


The Warriors of Hope

by JongKeyLover12



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Bottom Jeon Jungkook, Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin Smut, Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin-centric, M/M, Top Park Jimin, female jeon jungkook but not really?, jikook - Freeform, kookmin, sex is still gonna be gay so no worries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-03-26 15:06:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13860270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JongKeyLover12/pseuds/JongKeyLover12
Summary: Jungkook wakes up with the ability to turn into a girl and is forced to battle others. Jimin, his crush, falls for his female version.basically it's Kampfer, if you've ever seen it//the endgame smut is gonna be gay, in case you're worried





	1. It's Like Playing With Fire (Dangerous and Stupid)

**Author's Note:**

> I love Kampfer, it's unironically one of my all time favorite anime series  
> so I've decided to write a fic inspired by this awesome anime  
> jikook's relationship will be more of a slow burn here, and the smut will take a while but they'll both be men

 

When Jungkook wakes up in the middle of the night, he's no longer a he, but a she. He sleepily stands up in front of the mirror, yawning into his hand and then running it through his hair, that is suddenly very long. His eyes are snapped open widely as he stares at his reflection. Jungkook looks somewhat shorter, as if he shrunk. But his chest area, opposed to his height, has grown. Into a D-cup. He wants to let out a scream when he sees himself but covers his mouth, not wanting to wake up his parents during the rare time they're home. Reaching to his crotch area, he places his hand over it. "M-My dick, it's gone!"

"This is how you look when you turn!" A voice the young male doesn't recognize says. He feels anxious when he turns around, not knowing what to expect. What he certainly didn't think he'd be seeing is his stuffed bunny standing on two legs, waving at him. "It's me." The bunny says, freaking Jungkook out even more than before. 

"What-what the hell?" Jungkook mutters, his eye twitching nervously. He smacks the toy and stomps on it. "This is not real, I'm dreaming, this is a dream. That's the only explanation." Falling down to the bed, he closes his eyes and drifts back to deep sleep. 

When he wakes up again, he's in his regular body. A sigh of relief escapes the boy's lips when he feels his dick. It's there. "Did you sleep well?" The obnoxious voice from his alleged dream asks.

"You!" Jungkook grabs the damned thing. "You're not real, go back to being a toy!" 

"No can do," the bunny hits Jungkook's hand. "Now then, since you are more or less awake now, I can explain everything to you." He points to Jungkook's new bracelet. "The thing you see on your hand, that is your most valued item. When the light on your bracelet starts flickering, it means you are about to turn into a Firefly, one of our fighters."

"A Firefly? What is that?" The boy asks as he tries to remove the bracelet but to no avail. 

"Female warriors that lighten the darkness."

"How lame." Jungkook snickers only to earn a stuffed but surprisingly painful paw to his face. "And besides, I'm a male." 

"As I was saying, your bracelet flickers when you're about to change. Your bracelet is blue, it's an important detail." The bunny emphasizes the sentence, ignoring Jungkook. "It means that you're in the blue team. Anyone else with the same color is with you, and everyone who has a different color is against you. You'll be forced to fight them."

"Why?"

"Those are the rules. I don't make them, simply follow them." Jungkook makes a disapproving face. "Before you start asking questions such as 'why me?' or 'why do I turn into a girl?' let me just say that I don't know. And honestly, after you hit me yesterday, I wouldn't have told you even if I knew anything." 

"I refuse to be a part of this." Jungkook gets dressed and grabs his school bag. "Find someone else. The moment I figure out how to destroy the goddamn bracelet, I'm burning you with it." He glares and slams the door behind him. Heading to the bus station, he plugs his earphones in. This morning sucks. Until he catches a glimpse of that red hair, standing and waiting for the bus. It's Jimin, his upperclassman. And crush - but that's irrelevant. Jungkook walks a little faster to stand next to him, face already flushed. "G-Good morning," he lamely greets, half bowing. 

"Good morning Jungkook," Jimin smiles, melting the younger male's heart. "We both just missed the bus." 

"Oh, I didn't even notice." Jungkook admits. He was too absorbed in Jimin to see the older male rushing to the bus only for the driver to drive past. 

"I guess we'll have to wait together." Jungkook blushes and nods. "That's a pretty bracelet, is it new?"

Jungkook covers it with his other hand. "Yeah, it's, eh, a gift from my mother." 

"It's my favorite color." The bus that stops right next to the station stops their chatter. Out of the blue, Jungkook's bracelet starts flickering lightly and he remembers what the bunny told him. Across the street he notices a female aiming a gun at both of them. He gathers it must be another Firefly.

"I'm sorry, I-I have to go." Jungkook sprints to the other direction. Jimin doesn't have chance to stop him before he's gone from his eyesight. 

Jungkook feels lighter, his weight dropping when he's a female all of a sudden. Except his chest feels heavier. He's wearing a white blouse with a blue tie and both black skirt and stocking. "I can't believe this is happening to me." His boobs juggle and he hears a gunshot. Somehow he ends up doing a flip in the air to avoid the bullet. "Is she seriously trying to kill me?" He groans. His physical strength and agility improved, despite his frame being petite. The strange girl tries to land a kick but Jungkook climbs up a lamp and stands on top of it. He's slightly shaken. The thought of being killed while being stuck in this body terrifies him. The thought of dying at all stresses him out.

"For a newbie, that's pretty impressive." The red haired girl compliments, flashing a mischievous grin. "My name is-"

"I don't care, please leave me alone." Jungkook sits on the lamp, hugging his knees. "I didn't want this."

"Jungkook, where did you go?" Jimin's voice calls out until he reaches where the red haired girl and female Jungkook are.

"Get away, you human pig." The girls threatens, aiming her gun at Jimin. 

Jungkook stands up, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Don't you dare!" He yells, raising his hand up, shooting a strong fireball at the girl. She flies away, her back slammed against the street pole, completely bending it. He jumps down, Jimin's eyes scanning him. 

"You saved me," Jimin grabs Jungkook's now smaller hand. "Thank you." 

Jimin is touching him. His  _hand_ . Jungkook thinks he's about to pass out again. "N-No problem." 

The girl gets up, "Shit that hurt." She rubs her back and holds her gun up. "So you're a Blaster, huh?" 

Jungkook shoves Jimin back. "I have no idea what it means, but get away from me." 

Making her way closer, she grabs Jungkook's hand. "Why didn't you tell me you're on the blue team?" The girl rubs her temples. "What a nuisance, I can't believe I spent time on you." She turns around and jumps ona row of street lights until she can't be seen. 

Jungkook falls to his knees, "Thank god she left." 

Jimin reaches a hand to her, "Are you okay? You seem worn out."

Shyly, Jungkook grabs the older male's hand and stands up. "It's alright."

"You seem a bit familiar," Jimin tilts his head to the side, trying to get a better look at the girl before him. She had long, dark brown hair reaching until her breasts, that were rather large for an average Korean girl. She was tall, around 5'6 feet, almost his own height. She had large eyes, thin lips and a cute nose. "Have we met before?"

"I doubt it." Jungkook laughs nervously. "I should go."

"Wait." Jimin doesn't let go from his grip on the girl's hand. "A lot has happened but I only have one question." He smiles a little bit. "I'd like to know what your name is."

"Jeon Jun-" He stops in the middle of his sentence, remembering he's supposed to be a girl. "Jeon Junyool." 

"Pretty name." Jimin compliments, releasing his grip. "For a pretty girl."

"U-Uh, thanks." Jungkook doesn't know what to say, he feels awkward being his female self next to Jimin. Not as if he feels comfortable being his real self next to said man but still. 

"Sorry, am I creeping you out?"

"Not at all!" Jungkook states, maybe a bit too loudly. "I should...  Get going. " Jungkook waves goodbye cutely, running away to where he presumably dropped his bag. "How do I change back?" He asks the thin air, extremely frustrated but a bit overjoyed because Jimin physically touched him for the first time. 

"Hello," A female voice he doesn't recognize says. "I think I can help." 

"Who are you?"

"How insulting. I almost shot you a minute ago and you've already forgotten me." The girl laughs, showing her blue bracelet. "As I was saying before, my name is Soojung and I'm a Firefly." She looked different in her human form. Unlike her long, red hair from before, her hair is now short and dark brown. Her eyes are no longer light green but brown. She looks like a unique Korean beauty. "Sorry about before, I thought you were from an opposing team. Sometimes I'm so reckless I tend to forget to check since you know, you get used to fighting."

"I'm not going to be friendly with you! You almost killed my friend." Jungkook starts walking away. 

"Listen, it's not that way." She grabs his hand. "Trust me when I say it's not me. That's what happens when you transform into a Firefly. If your looks change completely, your personality remains the same but if your looks are slightly different or not different at all, your personality changes completely. Since I'm usually playful and calm, my Firefly personality is not as pleasant." 

"I see..." Jungkook reaches his hand to shake hers. He'll ask his stuffed bunny about it. "I'm Jeon Jungkook..."

"That's a guy's name." Soojung teases but takes note of the fallen expression on the Firefly's face. "Oh. You are. That's interesting, I had no idea males could be Fireflies."

"I had no idea Fireflies even existed to begin with."

"Fair enough. Neither did I, I turned into one only around six months ago." Soojung says and walks with Jungkook. "Listen, I know it's not easy at all but at the very least, you have a partner now. When I turned, there was no one except my stuffed bear to talk to about it so even though you're probably displeased about it, I'm still glad there's someone with me."

Jungkook thinks her smile is sincere. And pretty. She looks like a nice person. "I really can't imagine what you went through on your own. And for six months too... I'm barely handling my first hour as a Firefly."

"It's always like that. You never get much say in the matter." She sighs. "I'm here to teach you about the Fireflies but since we're outside it won't be a good idea. Do you want to meet in the local library around three? I'll explain everything I know and we can go through some of the old books for more information."

"Sounds like a good idea but," Jungkook fidgets with his fingers nervously. "How do I turn back to my regular form?"

"That's a bit hard when you're new to this." Soojung stops and thinks. "Try to relax and imagine your true body. That's what I did, although to me it wasn't that much of a difference." She chuckles. "I could've went to school and said I dyed my hair and put lenses, and everyone would buy it."

Jungkook takes a deep breath, trying to relax. Until Soojung suddenly shoves him. "Ouch, what the heck?" He whines in his female voice.

"Oh I'm sorry, it just seemed to me that my dumb teammate tried to change back in the middle of the street, where everyone can see him." She snickers. 

"Oh.  _Right_." He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's easy to forget I'm a Firefly." With a sigh he hides inside an alley with Soojung as a guard to make sure no one sees him. 

"Okay, the coast is clear. Do your thing." Soojung crosses her arms and waits for Jungkook to transform back. She grins when she sees him. "Ohh, stupid, you're pretty good looking."

Jungkook blushes a little bit at the compliment. "Thank you." Out of the blue, Soojung touches his chest. "Wh-"

"It's unfair that when you're a girl, your breasts are bigger than mine." She sulks, grabbing her own barely B-cup boob. 

"Is this really what concerns you?" He exhales and moves her hand. 

"Well, imagine if I turned into a guy and had a bigger penis. Wouldn't that upset you?" Soojung shamelessly says, causing Jungkook to flush and stutter. "Exactly." She laughs, turning to the left. "My school is on the other side so I'll meet you at the library. Three o'clock, don't forget!" She waves goodbye and disappears in the street. Jungkook makes his way to school with a slight smile. Soojung might be too direct and almost killed him but she seems like a decent girl when she's herself. When he reaches the gate, he sees Jimin standing there, looking around. He approaches the older male.

"Oh, Jungkook, there you are." Jimin smiles at him with relief. "When you ran away this morning I was a bit nervous, it's good to see you."

 Jungkook reddens and chokes. "D-Did you wait here to see if I came to school?"

"Yeah, I didn't know what to think when you ran off." 

Jungkook laughs nervously. "I should run to class before the bell rings, I appreciate your concern." He bows politely and sprints before Jimin can voice even a syllable. "He waited for me, oh my god, he's so cool!" Jungkook mumbles to himself when he sits down in his seat, covering his face with his hands, blushing like never before. "A-And he was so nonchalant about it." 

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Jungkook's best friend, Yugyeom, sits next to him. 

"Nothing." Jungkook plants his face on the table, too happy to form words. 

"Did Jimin do something again?" Yugyeom teases, poking Jungkook's side and causing him to jump up. "I'm reminded of the time you were staring out of the window and Jimin took his shirt off because it was hot. You almost screamed and fell of the chair." 

"Don't remind me." Jungkook groans. "I was so embarrassed." 

* * *

Jungkook is anxious the entire day. When the final bell rings, he grabs his belongings and sprints to the library, which was around ten minutes away. He's so lucky he finishes early today. He reaches barely in time, seeing Soojung waving at him. "At least you aren't late." She speaks quietly. "Let's go to the furthest side, it's usually empty of people." They sit in one of the chairs. "You must be wondering what Fireflies are." 

"Shinning warriors of justice or something." He rolls his eyes, resting his head on his hand. 

"Correct. Basically, the teams battle each other to see which is stronger. The color that remains with most members wins, although new members are being added almost all the time, hence the battling continues." Soojung grabs her bag and gets a notebook out. "There are different types of fighters. There are Shooters. Just like me, they have a gun and are better at long distance combat." 

"And you said I was a, what was it... Bla..."

"Blaster." She completes. Blasters can basically create a fire, electricity, or any other element energy ball with their hands, blasting it at their opponent." 

"So I also have an advantage with long distance combat, huh?"

"You catch on fast." She chuckles. "There are Wielders. They have one or two swords they can manipulate at will. Those type of fighters are dangerous. They can be both close and distant combat fighters. You never know what to expect."

"Guess I'm lucky you aren't a Wielder, I would have been skewed." 

"And then there are Healers, who are a bit less common. When you turn into a Firefly, your physical strength increases already but those types are much stronger than a regular Firefly and since they don't carry a weapon, they have an advantage. They can't lose their weapon and move freely. The worst part? They heal very fast. Of course, they're better at close range more than anything." Soojung leans on her hand as well. "But their strength could smash a sword. Or even counter a gun if they're alert enough."

"Then they're the most dangerous?"

"Actually, there's another type. I only read about it in books but they're called Holders." Soojung suddenly seems serious. "They're powerful. They hold all of the powers and a special ability." 

"Which is?"

"I don't know. If you ever encounter someone who, for example, has both a gun and a sword, run away. Don't think about battling them. Also, you have to remember that each Firefly's weapon is connected to them, meaning that if a Wielder drops her sword, I can't use it because it isn't part of me." Jungkook nods. "Now, there are only two reasons for your bracelet to flicker. It either means you're near another Firefly and it's used as a warning or that you're about to turn, since at first the transformations are very random. If you're in female form and your bracelet starts flickering, it means you're about to transform back to your regular self so be careful with it. Also, from the moment you see your bracelet lightening, you have around a minute before you turn." 

"That's a lot of information to remember but it's really helpful." Jungkook smiles. It was all fine until his bracelet started shinning again. He turned into a girl in his seat. "For fuck's sake." 

"Stay on the lookout." Soojung says, getting up and scanning the area. "You never know if it's random or if there's another Firefly near by." 

"I think we're in the clear since your bracelet didn't flicker, only mine." She sighs with relief.

"You're right, I suppose I'm too nervous." 

"It's alright, you don't have to fight alone anymore." Jungkook says and Soojung beams. 

"You're right. Thanks stupid." She stretches. "I'm going to get soda from the vending machine, if you have any more questions about Fireflies, you can try the history passage. You'd be surprised at how much information some books contain."

Jungkook gets up and heads to the more ancient books aisle. He makes a move to grab one book that seems interesting, but someone else beats him to it. "Ah, sorry." He turns to the side to see the one and only, Park Jimin. 

"Hey, it's you from this morning." Jimin hands her the book. "Junyool, right?"

"Y-Yeah," that can't be good. Seeing the older male when he's in his female form was definitely something he didn't want to do. "I didn't hear your name." 

"My name is Park Jimin, nice to meet you." Jimin reaches a hand to shake Jungkook's. They hold hands again. "Are you interested in history and religion stories?" He asks, sitting next to the person he believes is Junyool. 

Jungkook hums."It's intriguing to know what happened in the past. Or, at least, to know what people believed in back then." He opens the book, skipping pages to try and find more information about Fireflies, trying to be subtle about it. He's a bit uptight. 

"You can tell me what you're searching for," Jimin pulls the book closer to him. "I've read this book before."

"O-Oh, um, nothing in specific." Jungkook rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "I don't want you to think I'm childish or anything for trying to find a topic." 

"You're telling that to a guy who read the entire book." The older male chortles. "Are you searching for myths, legends or something else?"

"I'm... a bit curious about Fireflies." Jungkook fidgets with his fingers nervously.

"I never imagined you're interested in something that violent." Jimin opened page number seventy seven. There were pictures of girls shooting other girls, people being stabbed, burned, bleeding to their deaths. It was terrifying. "The legendary female fighters of justice." 

At that moment, Jimin sounded just like his stuffed bunny. "I thought it was a unique story, that's why I wanted to read about it."

"Hey, stupid, where are you?" Soojung's voice calls out. Crap, he forgot about her for a moment. She caught a glimpse of him and walked to where he was sitting. "There you are, you completely ditched me to be with this hottie, didn't you?" 

"N-No, it's nothing like that!" Jungkook raises his arms in defeat. "H-He grabbed the same book as I did and w-we ended up sitting together." 

"Hmm, sounds fake but whatever." She grabbed a chair and sat next to Jungkook. "I brought you a soda." She looks at Jimin. "Sorry, I didn't know you'd be here, I only bought two cans."

"It's okay, you shouldn't have bought it for me even if you knew I'm here." 

Soojung elbows Jungkook, whispering in his ear. "He's the guy from this morning, isn't he?" The male nods. 

"Hey, Junyool," Jimin says, catching his attention. "Do you need the book? I was planning to borrow and reread it." 

"No, it's okay, you can take it."

"Still, I feel a little bit bad since the topic seems to excite you." Jimin closes the book. "If you want, you can come over to my place and read it with me." He gives her a piece of paper with digits written on it. "Call me anytime." He leaves.

Jungkook becomes three different shades of red. "He gave you his number." Soojung states. Jungkook nods violently. "You must really like him." She laughs, wrapping a casual arm around him. "Isn't it a bit bad though?" 

"What is?" 

"He likes your female form, aren't you conning him a little?" She breaks his happy illusion. 

"You're right, it wouldn't be honest of me to hit him up when I'm a female." With a deep, heartbroken sigh, he tears the paper apart. 

"I'm sure you can still charm him when you're a dude, don't worry," Soojung pats his back, trying to cheer him up. 

"Hey, your bracelet, it's flickering." Jungkook says and Soojung gets up, pushing Jungkook away from a sword that was aimed at them. 

She clicks her tongue. "A fucking Firefly. Fan-freaking-tastic." Soojung already turned into a Firefly in less than a minute. Understanding Jungkook's puzzled expression, she explains: "Once you're a Firefly for a long amount of time, you can shift on whim. It takes seconds." 

Another sword, attached to a chain, is aimed at them. Jungkook rolls to the side and Soojung jumps on top of the book shelves to try and spot the attacker. "I can't see anyone." 

"Watch out!" Jungkook kicks the sword away from Soojung, scraping his knee. 

"Jungkook, are you okay?" Soojung asks, lifting him up. "We can't see our enemy and you're wounded. It's best if we retreat for now." She makes a run for it, avoiding everything aimed at her and leaving the building. Once Soojung reaches an alley, she stops and places Jungkook on the floor, turning back into her usual self. She takes a bottle of liquid iodine and small piece of cotton out of her bag. She pours some iodine on the fabric and dabs it lightly over Jungkook's wound. He flinches but endures. After she finishes cleaning it, she takes a bandage out, wrapping it around Jungkook's scratch and applying pressure to stop the bleeding. 

"Why do you have that in your bag?" He asks when she's done patching him up.

"After you get into countless fights, you have to bring something to fix yourself. Whilst your regular injuries might heal faster when you're in a Firefly form, if you're hurt by another Firefly, your body is as fragile as a human's." 

"But when I hit you with my Blast attack, you got up quickly. I thought you didn't feel anything." Jungkook sits up, taking the water bottle Soojung offers him. 

"It's because it was your first attack ever, it was weak. Nevertheless, it left a burn on my chest." She opens up the three first buttons of her blouse, revealing a small burn mark. "Fireflies are strong. If you value your life, avoid them, don't touch their weapons with your own body." 

"But I was worried about you." Jungkook admits. "It was aimed right at you, I thought you were about to get hurt so I... I did what I thought was right." 

"I know." She smiles, ruffling his hair. "You're a great teammate, but you need to have more faith in me. I didn't survive for six months just like that. I was going to run on the chain of the sword to try and find the Wielder." 

"And I basically screwed everything up." He palms his face. "I'm sorry, I had no idea." 

"Don't worry. Honestly, if anything, now I know I can trust you when I'm in a pinch." She winks. "Come on," she grabs his hand and helps him stand up. "Tell me where your house is and I'll help you get there." 

Jungkook is usually scared of girls. This has pretty much nothing to do with him being gay but they always kind of scared him. But with Soojung it isn't like that. He believes in her and trusts her. He sees her as a friend, regardless of her gender. He tells her his address and laughs when Soojung tells a lame joke to try and cheer him up. When they reach the place, she leaves him be. "Thank you for being a good partner." He holds his fist up. She bumps it.

"No problem. It's good I'm in a team with someone like you." She grabs her phone and hands it to him. "Give me your number. It'll be better if we have a form of communication."

"It's better if I have yours as well." He gives her his phone and they each save themselves. 

"We should go back to the library tomorrow, maybe the same Firefly will be there." Jungkook approves. "Then, I'll see you later." She heads her way. 

It was a busy, tiring day. He sighs and walks slowly to his bed, lying down comfortably. "Already got hurt?" His stuffed bunny teases. 

"Shut up or I'll throw you in the trash can." Jungkook warns, closing his eyes and trying to relax. 

"I'm assuming you met a teammate and an enemy." The bunny says, settling next to Jungkook. He hums in agreement. "Listen, I'm not supposed to help you, my job is to observe but the Moderators chose you, a male, to be a Firefly. Even to me, a servant and nothing more, it is odd. You have to be more careful than the others." 

Jungkook cuddles the toy. "Thank you for telling me." 

* * *

When Jungkook wakes up again, it's the next day. He gets ready for school and spends the entire time thinking about what happened with Soojung yesterday and what his stuffed bunny told him. The day passed by without him even feeling it. On his way outside, his bracelet glowed. With a grunt, he ran to the boy's bathroom, hiding inside a stall until he changed into a girl. He could never get used to his large chest. He leaves the stall only to almost get hit by a sword. In a split of a second, he moves away, the blade hitting the wall and not him. "So you dodged it." A girl says. Her hair black and short, barely reaching her shoulders. She's pretty and tall but has an atrocious expression. She reveals her red bracelet. "I suppose you know what it means."

Jungkook starts running away, locking himself inside of a random classroom. He grabs his phone and calls Soojung. "Hey stupid, do you want anything?" She asks with her mouth stuffed. 

"A Firefly," he whispers. "In my school." 

"What?" Soojung spits her food out in response. 

"I think it's the one from yesterday, she uses the same weapon." The door is cut open. 

"Try to avoid her, I'll come as fast as I can." Jungkook hangs up and runs out, trying his best not to get cut again. His wound from last time still hurts, slowing him down. He tries reaching for a doorknob of another class but the sword stops him, almost cutting his hand off. 

"It's futile." The girl corners him, almost slitting his throat when Soojung appears, shooting her hand. She didn't hit her, but the bullet was enough to make her move away from Jungkook. 

"I made it." Soojung pants, holding her gun up. "Back off from stupid," she warns, taking a stop closer. 

"Or what?" The other Firefly smirks, holding her sword up. "I always wanted to check my speed against a Shooter. Come on, give it your best shot." 

Soojung is hot headed when in her Firefly form. She takes on the challenge, shooting countless bullets at the female in front of her but it's to no avail. They're all cut through by the Wielder's sword. "What the-it doesn't make sense!" 

Jungkook notices she isn't focused on him anymore and takes the opportunity to kick the Wielder's back, causing her to drop her sword. "Soojung, come on." 

"Don't order me around." She clicks her tongue, stomping the Firefly's leg. Jungkook pins her to the floor and Soojung holds the gun at the girl's temple. "Say your prayers." 

"Wait," Jungkook speaks softly. "Maybe we don't have to kill her." 

The girl beneath Jungkook laughs. "It's best to listen to your partner and get rid of your enemies fast."

"It's not moral to kill a person."

"Jungkook, she tried to kill us first. If she had her sword, she'd try to stab you. We don't have any reason to keep her alive." Soojung argues. 

"You may not, Soojung." The girl says. "But Jungkook surely does."

"What do you mean?"

"Park Jimin. Is that name familiar to you?" Jungkook's eyes widen. 

"What did you do to him?" Jungkook pulls the girl's hair. 

She winces but continues talking. "I didn't know if I could overpower both of you, that's why I wanted to take you on when you're alone. But, just in case other nuisance would arrive, I made sure to have a trump card. I knocked Jimin out and tied him up in one of the classes, with a bomb attached to him."

"You did what?" Jungkook freaks out, smashing the girl's head to the floor. "How can you involve innocent people?" 

"Sometimes, you'd do anything to survive." Soojung completes. "No matter what it is." 

"Your friend gets me." The girl says. "I'm more than willing to tell you what classroom he's in and the password to stop the bomb, if you promise to let me go."

"Soojung, sit on her and aim the gun at her head." Soojung does as Jungkook says. "I'll go to the classroom and check. If he's really there and he's safe, you let her go." 

"Okay, hurry up."

"He's in class three, the password is 3435." The girl says and Jungkook sprints to the other side of the building, busting the locked door open. 

There he was, passed out on the floor with a small device attached to his leg. He groans and wakes up. Jungkook types the numbers. The device beeps before it turns off. Jungkook grabs it and throws it away. Jimin groans, slowly sitting up. "Thank god, you're okay." Jungkook hugs him, surprising the older male. 

"Junyool, not that I don't like you hugging me but what's the occasion?" He asks, hugging the girl back. 

"I saw you lying on the floor and thought something happened. Sorry, I didn't mean to invade your personal space." Jungkook resists the urge to start crying and gets up instead. He was worried something might have happened to Jimin.

"I must have passed out..." Jimin rubs his temples. "My head kinda hurts." 

"Hope you feel better soon," a voice says. It's the student council president, Kwon Nara. Her arms are crossed and she seems calm. Her hair is long and blonde with her thin but tall frame. "Shall I call you an ambulance or are you feeling well enough to walk home yourself?" 

"I'm fine, thank you." Jimin says, leaning on Junyool. 

"And as for you,  _Junyool_ ," She glares. "Your friend is waiting for you." 

"Jimin, I'm sorry but I have to go." Jungkook removes the older male's hand from him and runs to where Soojung was lying on the floor, slightly bleeding but in her regular form. "Christ, are you okay?" Without noticing, he changes back to his male form, lifting her up.

"That psycho is crazy strong... She grabbed her sword with her leg and stabbed my thigh." Soojung cries in pain.

"It's a good thing she didn't kill you."

"Y-Yeah," she coughs. "I asked her why she didn't and she said it's because she stands by her promise to only run away and save Jimin." 

"Funny how she keeps her promise." Jungkook rolls his eyes, "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No, you can take me home. I don't live that far away. The wound isn't deep, it was only so I wouldn't chase her." Soon enough they arrive at Soojung's house. Jungkook walks inside and places her on the bed. 

"It's so tiring being a Firefly, I don't know how you managed to do it for six months." Jungkook feels a pounding headache. He gets her the first aid kit from the closet and she takes care of her injury by herself. 

"At least I'm not alone anymore." She smiles, holding her fist up for Jungkook to bump it, and he does. "You're a great friend." 

"Likewise. I know how badly you wanted to shoot her but you listened to me and helped me save Jimin..." 

"Of course," she hits Jungkook's shoulder lightly. "Aside from the fact you have the biggest crush ever on him, he's innocent. No one innocent should get hurt."

"Says the person who almost shot him the first time she saw him." Jungkook teases, laughing when Soojung gets flustered. 

"I wasn't actually going to shoot him, you know." 

"I know that now, before I thought you might kill him." Jungkook snickers and gets up. "You seem tired, I'll leave you to it." 

"Call me again if you'll need anything." She waves cutely. 

"You too, and maybe clean your room." He gets out before Soojung manages to throw a slipper at him. The moment he leaves her house, he transforms. "Not again..." He whines but no Firefly appears. Luckily it's just one of these accidental times. Soojung's house is on the other side the city. On his way home, it suddenly starts raining. "Oh great." He groans. He's only wearing the school girl outfit. It's freezing. 

"Junyool, are you stuck without an umbrella?" Jimin's voice suddenly asks, giving her shelter with his own black umbrella from the cold rain. 

"Yes, I had no idea it was going to rain." Jungkook swears he's running into Jimin a lot more than usual lately. He can't tell if it's good or bad. 

"O-Oh, um," Jimin stammers. "Are you... are you not wearing a bra?" He shyly asks, looking at her breasts. 

Jungkook looks down. His white blouse is entirely see through. He blushes and turns around, covering his chest. Jimin takes off his jacket and covers Junyool with it. The younger male is too embarrassed to utter a word. He doesn't know why he's shy about it. Guess even after two days you sort of feel like it's your body and having it exposed without your agreement is not exactly okay. He takes a deep breath, "Thank you." 

"You're welcome." They walk together silently. "By the way, did you think about my offer of reading the book together?" 

"I-I did." 

"Do you want to?" Jimin insecurely asks. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you." 

Jimin is so pretty when he's nervous, Jungkook's heart flutters. He knows he should refuse, it would be wrong to lead the male on but he so badly wants to spend time with him. "S-Sure, why not?" 

Jimin's smile when he's reassured and thrilled almost makes Jungkook's heart stop. "Great, when are you free?"

"How about tomorrow?" Jungkook sheepishly asks, his face pretty pink when he gives Jimin his phone to type the older male's number. 

"Tomorrow sounds perfect." 

* * *

"Thank you for letting me borrow some of your clothes." Jungkook groans  when he tries to pull the red tank top Soojung gave him over his breasts. He's getting ready to head to Jimin's place. 

"No problem but I hope you know I'm against this idea." She eats her biscuit, not even sparing Jungkook a glance seeing as she is too invested in her phone. "I mean, I'm all for you going out with him, yeah? But as a guy. You're not a real girl."  
    
"I know that but..." Jungkook looks down. "The way he talked and looked at me... He was so... I don't know how to describe it. I swear that at first I was set on refusing. But when I saw his rejected expression I couldn't bear the thought that I'm the one to cause him this feeling."

"I get it, trust me. Can you, uh, I don't know, make him dislike your female self?" Soojung suggest. "You don't have to be repulsive or anything, only... Dislike things he likes, so he'll see you don't have much in common."

"That would be impossible." Jungkook groans and takes the shirt off. It doesn't fit. "We texted quite a lot during the night... We like a lot of the same things and share similar opinions." 

"Seriously, you idiot." She massages her temples. "This is why I call you stupid."   
   
"I don't know, I think that's fine." Soojung's teddy bear says, indulging in the conversation he wasn't part of. "At the end of day you're still the same person."

"It's different," Soojung yawns. "What if he's not into guys?"

"All of that aside, do you have a larger shirt?" Jungkook shyly asks, covering his chest. "My boobs are too big for this one."

In a matter of seconds, Soojung transforms, placing her gun against Jungkook's chest. "Oh I'm  _sorry_  my small tits are such a burden." She twitches angrily. 

"Sorry, sorry, that's not what I meant." Jungkook tenses up. "You have a slimmer figure, is all." He laughs nervously. 

Soojung changes back. "Hmm, I think my friend left her shirt here. She's pretty gifted in her chest area as well. And it was a cute tank top." She throws many clothes on the floor before getting a purple tank top out. He now realizes why her room is such a mess. The shirt had a cute ribbon on the top, where the middle of the chest area is. "Here you go." 

"Can I really wear this without a bra?" 

"She left her bra here too." Soojung hands him a black bra, with lace. 

"Huh? Why'd she leave that here?" Jungkook questions when he gets dressed. 

"No reason," Soojung averts her eyes. "Well, about the pants, we're about the same size so take whichever jeans you'd like." 

"Isn't this... A bit too suggestive?" The tank top shows quite a lot of cleavage. 

"You're taking a jacket, don't worry. Not as if he'll see it. And besides, he already saw your naked boobs didn't he?" Soojung teases. 

"Don't be that way," Jungkook blushes, throwing his school girl skirt at her. "It was an accident."

"How truly unfortunate for him." She rolls her eyes. 

"By the way, I'm worried about what to do if my bracelet would flicker. I'm anxious about turning right in front of him. What will he think?"

"Don't worry. If you notice your bracelet, get in the bathroom and call me. I'll transform and head there." She consoles him and pets his head. "But man, you're seriously pretty as a girl. That's unfair."

"You're pretty too," Jungkook compliments. She smiles. 

"I know," Soojung runs her hand through her hair. "I'm quite gorgeous, ain't I?"

"And modest." 

* * *

"Maybe it was a bad idea." Jungkook mutters, trying to go past Jimin's house only for Soojung to grab him. 

"Listen, you have to face it. No matter what, just try to have a good time. After all, you saved him. You sort of deserve this date. You look great so don't worry about that already and knock!" She pushes him to the front door and hides in the bushes, doing a thumbs up. 

Jungkook is wearing a purple tank top, a white jacket that covers most of his cleavage, black skinny jeans and sneakers with his hair tied up, only some loose strands remain at the corner of his face. He was honestly surprised when Soojung told him Fireflies can take off their clothes to put different ones on. 'What? Did you think it was glued to our skin?' She asked, throwing countless clothes at him. He took a deep breath and knocked weakly. "Coming," Jimin's voice called before the door was opened. The older male flashed a warm smile, inviting Junyool in. Trembling a little, Jungkook stepped inside. It was warm inside and the house was painted in light colors. They headed to Jimin's room and sat next to each other in front of the desk, the book open on the Fireflies page. More disturbing images of smashed teeth, scars, bloody bodies and what not. Almost making Jungkook gag, he covered his mouth and gladly accepted the cup of juice Jimin had offered him. "Are you okay? You seem a bit pale." The older male worriedly asks. 

"I'm fine, the images are a bit..." Jungkook sighs, resting on his hand. 

"Do you want me to read it out to you? That way you won't have to look at them." Jimin offers, earning a slight nod from Junyool. He grabs the book and  clears his throat. "Warriors of Justice, more known as Fireflies, are a myth that ascended in ancient Greece, during times of war. It talks about beautiful females with colorful jewelry and extremely unique weapons or physical abilities. They were said to be allies, and were divided by the color of their jewelry to determine on which part of the city each group will protect." 

"Wait," Jungkook stops him. "What do you mean united? From what I've heard, different color means enemies." 

Instead of answering, Jimin continues reading. "However, an inner conflict stirred a civil war between the Fireflies. It was said that the person who gave them their powers, The Moderator, was displeased about the way they managed and forced them to kill or be killed, but other rumors claimed that each group simply wanted to be considered the strongest, and to test their strength, they had to fight other Fireflies. Some of the warriors refused to fight, saying it wouldn't do any good, but were forced to, seeing as they didn't want to lose their lives." Jimin turns the page. "The ruckus they had caused hurt innocent people, completely straying from what they were originally created to do. The citizens grew tired of them and the mess they left, pelting them with stones. The Fireflies were banished to forever fight one another until they died. It was their curse."

Jungkook clenches his fists. Not everyone wanted to fight, they didn't want to kill or be murdered. "That's unfair." He mutters. "Fireflies... they weren't bad to begin with, they were forced to change their ways to survive. It was their human instinct kicking in, they didn't deserve it."

"Junyool, are you... crying?" Jimin softly asks, pulling her into a hug to try and comfort her. 

"I'm sorry," Jungkook hugs Jimin back, his boobs squashed against the older male's chest. "I'm a bit sensitive to injustice." This form affects his mentality as well, it seems.

Jimin rubs her back, slightly flustered at the close proximity. "We all are, some more than others."

Pulling away, Jungkook smiles bashfully. "I got to read the story I wanted. Maybe I should-" 

The older male grabbed Jungkook's hand before he got up. "You're welcome to stay and hang out with me, I have... a lot of interesting books to show you, if you want." 

"About what?" Jungkook sits down, holding Jimin's hand. 

"Anything you'd like." Jimin grins. "I also have cake." 

"Trying to buy my heart with sweets?" Jungkook teases, blushing slightly. 

"Depends, is it working?" He raises one eyebrow, flashing a small smirk. 

Fuck, Jimin is  _so_ hot. He's great at flirting. Jungkook's heart beats too fast, letting go of the older male's hand to nervously fidget with his fingers. "Y-Yeah, I have a sweet tooth." 

In Jimin's eyes, it's cute how Junyool pretends to be confident, only for that confidence to disappear when he teases her back. He gets up and takes two pieces of cake, Junyool following behind. "We can eat in my room, if you want."

"I don't mind eating here," Jungkook speaks, shyly taking a spoonful of chocolate cake as she settles on a chair in the kitchen. His eyes widen. "This is really good, where did you buy that?"

"I baked it." Jimin admits, pleased to see her liking it. 

"You did? That's impressive." Jungkook compliments. As if Jimin couldn't get any more perfect. He's a great baker. 

"To be honest, not really. I can only bake, not cook." 

"I can cook, but not bake." Jungkook says, eating the strawberry on top of the cake. "If you want, I can cook something for you..." He blushes, thinking it's an excellent idea. After all, one of the ways into a man's heart is through his stomach.

"That sounds great." Jimin digs into his cake as well. "Do you know how to make kimchi stew?" 

Jungkook nods. "It's pretty easy." 

"Can you make it... now?" Jimin's been craving this dish for a while, but every attempt he had at making it ended up a failure. 

"Sure, if you have the ingredients." Jungkook finishes his cake.

* * *

"This is good!" Jimin says after tasting the stew. 

"I'm glad to hear." Jungkook places the pot in the middle of the table, along with two bowls for them. "But at least wait until we put it in the bowls." 

Jimin apologizes half heartedly. "I really wanted to try your cooking." He places some rice on their plates. "I can make decent rice." 

"Hmm," Jungkook chews. "I think you added too much water." 

"Is that so?" Jimin takes a spoonful into his mouth. "I think it's fine." He pouts childishly, causing Jungkook to giggle. 

"Next time I'll make the rice as well." Jungkook states, gazing lovingly at Jimin.

"Then this means we'll meet again?" Jimin asks, trying to contain his excitement. Jungkook realizes what he said and reddens. 

"Y-Yeah, why not?" 

"Stay away you fucking bitch!" Jungkook hears Soojung's Firefly voice from outside. His hearing is surprisingly sharp when he's in the Firefly form. 

"I have to go," Jungkook gets up and rushes outside, ignoring Jimin's questions. He sees Nara and Soojung glaring at each other after running for a few blocks. "What are you doing here?" He questions the red Firefly. 

"I wanted to talk to you since it seems your partner is too busy cursing me rather than having a normal conversation." She avoids a kick Soojung tries to land. "See what I'm talking about?"

"Well, duh! You tried to kill us!" Soojung yells. 

"Soojung," Jungkook warns. She click her tongue but stands quietly besides him. "What is it that you want?"

"An alliance." Nara states. 

Soojung rolls her eyes. " _As if_. You just want us to drop our defense."

"Why all of a sudden? Just yesterday you tried to kill us." 

"But you showed me mercy, and that I cannot ignore." She flashes a distasteful grin, slightly bitter at her loss but still, she seems sincere. 

"You put the life of an innocent person on the line. I can't trust you." Jungkook is about to leave but then she speaks again. 

"The bomb was fake."

"What?" He turns around, eyes wide. 

"Jimin was never at stake, it was only a lie to make sure I come out alive in case something happens." She throws the alleged bomb that was tied to the older male's hand at him. "See for yourself." 

Jungkook presses the button on the side, expecting the thing to go off but instead it just beeps and then stops. "Then... then Jimin was never in danger?"

Nara shakes her head. "In case you didn't know, Jimin and I are in the same class. He's awfully nice and soft hearted, there's no reason for me to kill him." She takes a step closer. "Don't think too badly about me. I did what I was told from the moment I turned into a Firefly, hoping that one day I could figure out the true reason for why we fight, maybe gain recognition from The Moderator. Your friend wanted to do the same thing, didn't she? To kill me." 

He glances at Soojung. Nara isn't wrong. "What do you want to do?" 

"I want us all to diligently find other Fireflies and convince them to stop fighting. Right now we have a choice. We can either aimlessly fight and continuously put our lives on the line or knock some sense into the others." Nara is a lot more peaceful when she's speaking as herself, not as a Firefly. You can easily tell she's the student council president by the way she fluently talks. 

"Fuck o-" Soojung doesn't manage to finish her sentence before Jungkook cuts her off.

"It's a good idea," Jungkook says. "However, for it to happen, I have one request." 

"Which is?" 

"I want you and Soojung to spend the day together." 

The two girls are shocked. "There is no way in hell that's happening." Soojung tsks. Nara nods in agreement, crossing her arms.  

"If that's the case, no alliance." Jungkook firmly states. 

"Is that all you need in order to agree?" Nara questions. Jungkook gives a small nod. "If we must, then okay." She grabs Soojung's hand and drags her. "Let's go."

"Leave me alone!" Soojung tries to release herself from the older female's grip but she's strong. "I can't believe you're selling me out like that." She glares at Jungkook. 

"If we're going to be a team, you two have to be on better terms with each other." 

"He's right." Nara removes her iron grip. "I know we had a bad start but maybe we can turn things around."

Clicking her tongue, Soojung turns back to her regular form. "Fine, but if anything feels fishy I'm shooting you."

"Likewise." Nara says and walks away with Soojung's arm linked to hers. 

They can say whatever they'd like but it seems like they'll get along. Jungkook makes his way to Jimin's house, having no idea how to explain why he suddenly ran off. The older male will probably think he's weird now, though in a way it's good, he supposes. Since Jimin won't be interested in his female form anymore. Once he reaches his destination, he knocks on the door, expecting to see an angry man in front of him but instead, the older male pulled him into a hug. "Are you okay?" He asks, rubbing Junyool's back.

"Y-Yeah, why are you asking?"

"You ran off like that, it's easy to get worried." Jimin pulls away and laughs. "Hey, Junyool." He says, suddenly sounding serious. 

Jungkook gulps. "W-What is it?" 

Jimin shakes his head. "Never mind, I just wanted to ask if you want to come in and eat. The stew is still hot." 

"O-Oh, sure," Jungkook makes his way to the house and takes deep breaths before eating, trying to calm his racing heart. Jungkook ended up staying quite a while, playing video games with Jimin and hearing more about the older male's hobbies. When it got a bit late, the older male had offered to walk Junyool home but got a refusal. "I wouldn't want to drag you out at this hour. Don't worry, I don't live too far away." Jungkook puts his shoes on and stands at the entrance. 

Jimin moves a bit closer, putting a stray hair behind Junyool's ear. "I hope you'll get home safely." The sweet gesture makes the younger male blush. "Text me when you get home, that way I can go to sleep in peace." Jungkook hums in agreement and heads out.

* * *

In the next morning, Jungkook waited at the station and Jimin joined him. "Hey, Jungkook," he calls out. The latter turns his face to him. 

"W-What is it?" He nervously asks. 

"Your math teacher, Mr. Seo, saw us speaking outside the school gates and he asked me if I can tutor you." Jimin smiles. 

"Is t-that so?" Jungkook gets on the bus, Jimin follows, sitting next to him. When their knees touch, the younger male tenses up slightly. "And what did you tell him?"

"That of course I'll help you." Jimin ruffles Jungkook's hair affectionately. "You should have told me you're not doing so well in math, I would have helped you earlier." 

An  _angel_. That  must be it. There's no other reason as to why Jimin Park is the most perfect human in existence. "I appreciate it a lot, thank you very much."

"Don't even mention it." Jimin relaxes against his seat. "When are you free? I'll come over and help you."

So not only is Jimin wasting his precious time on Jungkook, he'll come over to his house to spare Jungkook the walk. And it's not even because he's a girl, he's just genuinely very nice. "H-How about today at four, after school? That way you can stop at your own house and change to more casual clothes and you won't have to drag your school notebooks with you." 

"Great, I'll come over then." 

* * *

"Remind me why I'm here." Soojung groans, scrubbing the floor thoroughly. 

"Because," Jungkook blows on the mirror and quickly cleans it to make sure it's sparkling. "Jimin is coming over and I want the house to be spotless. And you're my friend so help me." 

"It's... sort of sweet you like him that much," Nara says, leaning against the door, "But please do tell me why I am here as well." 

"Don't just stand there." Jungkook throws a trash bag at her. "Help." 

The oldest woman respires but gets to it. "I guess I do owe you my life. What is a bit of cleaning compared to it?"

"That's the spirit!" 

* * *

Jungkook made sure to cook some food. The last time his parents came home, they brought some quality meat. He didn't get a chance to make it for them since they had to leave early but now that Jimin's coming over, he has a reason to make something good. He heard someone knock on the door and quickly rushed over, but not before gussying himself up a little in front of the mirror. "Hey," Jungkook says, opening the door swiftly. 

"Hey," Jimin walks in and is immediately greeted with the aroma of the food. "Are you cooking something? It smells incredibly good." 

"Y-Yeah," The younger male walks to the kitchen, leading the way for the older male. "I decided to make some beef for us, since we'll need energy while studying." 

"That's very considerate of you but isn't it expensive?" Jimin wonders, sitting next to Jungkook at the large table. 

"My parents brought it from abroad, but they're never home for a long time so I don't really have anyone else to share this food with." Jungkook explains, setting the table for both of them. "That's why I don't mind making this even for the most simple guests. I like cooking anyway and I couldn't think of a better way to repay you for helping me."

"Oh, I see." Jimin remains silent and just thanks Jungkook for lunch. 

At first it was a bit hard for the younger male to concentrate with Jimin so close to him but as soon as he took deep breaths, he came back to his senses. As it turns out, the older male isn't simply good looking, he's also very smart and surprisingly good at teaching. "I feel like I understand this so much better now, you're amazing."

"It's nothing like that, you already knew it, you only needed someone to believe in you enough for you to succeed." Jimin pats Jungkook's back. 

"That's not true, I'm very stupid." Jungkook pouts, closing his notebook after their session ends. 

"Don't say that, you're pretty smart. You just need the confidence to back it up." Jimin puts his belongings inside his backpack. It's still rather early. "Oh I almost forgot." Jimin opens his backpack again, taking a plastic a bag. "I brought this for you."

"What is it?" 

"It's some red velvet cake I made." Jimin explains and hands it over to the younger male. "I figured that as a guest I should give you something."

"You... you shouldn't have!" Jungkook grabs the bag, blushing all over, finding it hard to contain his excitement. 

"You sound so happy, I find it hard to believe I really shouldn't have." The older male laughs. 

"Do you want to eat it together now?" Jungkook suggests, hoping Jimin won't reject him. 

"Why not, but you do know it means you'll eat less by yourself." He chuckles. 

"That's more than fine," Jungkook smiles brightly, taking Jimin by surprise at how lovely his expression of joy is. "Sharing is caring." They sat in the kitchen again. "This is great! And I even had a sweet tooth." 

Jimin freezes for a second, then glances at the younger male before shrugging it off. "I'm glad I could help you with that. Hey, it's still kind of early. Would it be okay with you if I stay a while longer?" 

"S-Sure," Jungkook stutters. "I-I have some video games, if you want. I have a collection so you can choose whatever you want."

"Perfect." And once more, they spent the evening playing video games. When Jimin lost for the 7th time in a row he gave up, lying on the floor in defeat. "You're too good at this game." 

"And at the previous one, and at the one before that." Jungkook giggles. "I'm home alone very often so I practice the games a lot." 

"Do you feel lonely?" Jimin asks, sitting up and locking eyes with the younger male. "Your parents are rarely here and your older brother moved out two years ago." 

"I admit it's a bit empty in this big house on my own but..." Jungkook trails off. He can't complete the sentence. There's no but to this. 

"Hey," Jimin calls him, petting his head. "Every time you feel lonely when you're home, you can call me. I'll come over and try to beat your ass in the games." 

"Will you bring cake?" 

"I'll even bring two." Jimin simpers. "But since it's getting late and I do want you to be able to wake up in the morning, I think I should go." He gets up and Jungkook sits on the bed, watching as the older male puts his jacket back on. Without noticing, Jimin tripped on his backpack, falling right on top of the younger male, who squealed in surprise. Their heads bumped and Jimin lifted up his own, staring at Jungkook. He wanted to laugh this off but how he saw the younger male - his eyes closed, face flushed and his hands placed above his head in an almost submissive manner - it made him feel a certain way. Jungkook opened his big, doe eyes, staring at the older male. This feels oddly intimate. Without intending to do it, Jungkook stopped breathing for a few seconds. "S-Sorry," Jimin quickly gets up. "I didn't mean to do that."

"It's fine, it's... it's fine," Jungkook repeats himself a few times and shakes his head. "I'll, um, walk you to the door." 

They stand in awkward silence. "My offer to come over any time is still valid." Jimin breaks the quiet moment, smiling to lighten the mood. 

"C-Can I have your cell phone number?" Jungkook asks. Of course he already has it, but it's the number Jimin gave to his female form so if he would have called him as his male self that would be creepy. 

"Yeah, just gimme your cell." 

"O-Oh, it's, um, broken." Jungkook looks for a pen somewhere in the living room. "Just write it on my arm and I'll call you from the home phone, okay?" 

Jimin writes the digits and opens the door. "I had fun today. I'm glad we bonded beyond solving math problems." He moves closer to the younger male, doing the same thing he did with Junyool, putting stray hair behind his ear. "If you ever need anything, be it whatever it is, don't hesitate to call me."

Jungkook flushes but nods violently, heart beats quickening. "T-The same goes to you!" He says, maybe a bit too loudly and enthusiastically, but the older male finds it endearing. 

"I will, thank you for being so cute." Jimin laughs and waves goodbye after leaving. 

"He called me cute," Jungkook keeps muttering to himself. He grabs his phone and calls Soojung. 

"Hey stupid, how was your day?" She asks casually.

"He called me cute!" He yells, "The male me, he said that I-"

"Wow, I am happy for you but think about my ears!" Soojung yells back, but still sounds hyped. "Now tell me in more detail. I'm curious." 


	2. A Salvageable Hypocrisy (Is Superior To Murderous Honesty)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the characters become a little closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew sorry that this is garbage but whatever! hope you like it regardless of all the mistakes  
> also for some reason I started writing jeonyul instead of junyool so please bear with it!  
> comments are always appreciated <3   
> also yes I am naruto trash fight me

"The water park?" Jungkook repeats Jimin's words.

 

"Yes." Jimin smiles. "My classmates invited me and I was wondering if you'd like to join. Of course, you can ask your friends to come with us."

 

"This Friday?" Jungkook questions for more details. Jimin nods. "It sounds great."

 

"Then you'll come?" Jimin asks, seemingly excited.

 

"You can count me in."

* * *

"He asked your female form out too, huh?" Soojung ruffles Jungkook's hair in an attempt to comfort him.

 

"But sadly she can't come." Nara tries to stifle a laugh.

 

"Do you think this is funny?" Jungkook mutters in frustration.

 

"No, not funny. But is it somewhat entertaining." She takes a seat besides Soojung. "I do feel bad for you, however."

 

"But shouldn't you be more happy? He invited your guy self along. It's not as if Jeonyul is the only one on his mind." Soojung tries to cheer him up. It doesn't work.

 

"He's interested in me as a friend but he likes Jeonyul..." Jungkook sulks. "Maybe Jeonyul should come and not me..."

 

"Listen here, Jungkook." Nara speaks up. "He is fond of Jeonyul's personality. You have to remember it's part of you and not someone entirely different. Show him the charming points of Jeon Jungkook and make him forget girls are a thing."

 

"Wow student council president, you're pretty good with pep talks." Soojung compliments.

 

"I have to be." She grins. "It's nice to hear praise from you, who used to hate me."

 

"Used to?" Soojung raises an eyebrow.

 

"Fair enough." Nara runs a hand through her long hair and it glides down her shoulders majestically. Anyone can say what they want about her personality wise, but she is gorgeous. "Back to the topic we have discussed, try to show him more of the real you. From what you've told us about that time at your place, he seems to have a certain affection towards you."

 

"She's right. Go get him Kook!" Soojung exclaims loudly.

* * *

Soon enough Friday approaches. Jimin has expressed disappointment towards Jeonyul rejecting the invitation but didn't pester her about it. Jungkook, Soojung and Nara are supposed to meet Jimin and his friends near the entrance. The younger male feels a tap on his shoulder and turns around to face Jimin.  _Too close._  "Hey Jungkook, did you and your friends wait for long?"

 

Jungkook shakes his head. "We've arrived only now. This is my friend Soojung and-"

 

"Nara, good to see you outside of school." Jimin has a bright smile. He's almost beaming.

 

"Likewise." She returns politely. "Won't you introduce us to your friends?"

 

"I'm sure they can do it themselves." Soojung says, looking at the two other guys expectantly. The pair seems flustered.

 

"We didn't expect to have such pretty girls, so excuse us for being rude." One of them bows. "My name is Changsub and the one besides me is my childhood friend, Hansol."

 

"Let's go!" Soojung announces excitedly, not bothering to say anything about their greeting.

 

"You seem rather energetic today." Nara laughs, walking besides her. Jungkook wonders why they both pretend not to like each other. The two appear to be close. Perhaps it's easier for them to cope that way.

 

"Jungkook, do you like water parks?" Jimin asks, walking next to him.

 

"Yes, I love it!" He says enthusiastically. "The adrenaline rush of going down into the deep water is amazing."

 

"Then I'm glad. I was worried you might have joined because you felt bad about saying no." Jimin sighs in relief.

 

They find themselves a place with enough chairs for all of them. Before they even manage to settle down, Soojung removes her shirt and shorts, yelling 'whoo!' as she jumps into the water. Everyone were a bit phased, except from Nara who appreciates her passion and quickly joins her in the pool. The pair are in a world of their own, splashing water on one another and swimming away before anyone can manage to say anything. "They look as if they have no care in the world." Hansol mumbles.

 

Jungkook smiles dejectedly. "If only that were true."

 

"Don't look so sad." Jimin says while taking off his clothes and remaining in swimming trunks. Holy fuck, he's hot. Jungkook can't stop the blush creeping onto his cheeks. Jimin's abs, his biceps, those veins... Christ he can't stop staring, mentally slapping himself for being so obvious. "Come on, let's go to the biggest water slide we can find, I want to feel the rush."

 

"Y-Yeah," Hesitantly, Jungkook removes his own clothes, feeling oddly exposed in front of Jimin. To be fair, it's almost as if he's wearing underwear.

 

"Your body is surprisingly toned." Jimin admires out loud. "You look good, what are you acting shy for?"

 

And that makes Jungkook even more bashful. "Y-You too, your body is good."

 

Somehow they've turned into groups of two. Jimin's friends were together, Soojung and Nara were together and Jungkook was with Jimin, finding fun slides and racing each other. After a while they got a little tired and decided to return to their seats, only to find Soojung and Nara already out of the water. "Lost your stamina?" Jimin asks, stretching.

 

"Soojung wanted to eat." Nara says, taking out sandwiches out of her bag. "Do you want anything?" Jimin shakes his head.

 

Jungkook relaxes. He doesn't know why was that worried about today. From the corner of his eyes he notices a girl staring. Not at him, but at Jimin. She looks out of place. She wasn't wearing a swimsuit but rather, a jumper. She has heavy dark circles beneath her eyes and when her gaze meets Jungkook's, she goes back to playing with her PSP console. He shrugs it off. There are weird people everywhere. "Hey, Jungkook." Hansol takes him out of his trance. "What kind of people are you attracted to?"

 

"W-What?" Jungkook hasn't even noticed the two other guys returned.

 

"You really aren't here with us, are you?" Hansol chuckles. "I asked if you have a certain type."

 

"N-No, not that I can think of." Jungkook's heart beats extremely fast, stealing a glance at Jimin. "Just someone who is kind hearted, but that could be many people."

 

"Hmmm, I see." Changsub turns to the girls. "What about you, Soojung?"

 

"I like people I can be myself with." She says, stuffing her mouth with food.

 

"And you, Nara?" Hansol asks. The two guys clearly have set their eyes on them. "Do you have an ideal type?"

 

"I don't think I'm a person who has a type." She dries her body with a towel. "Rather, I'm attracted to certain people. I think my ideal type is specifically the person I like at the time. But that kind of answer is not very fun."

 

Changsub taps Jimin's shoulder. "What about you, Mr. Good Guy?"

 

"Me?" Jimin rubs his temples, thinking. Jungkook can't hide his expectations. "I think I'm similar to Nara in that aspect. The person I like is... the person I like."

 

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Hansol mocks.

 

All of a sudden, Jungkook's bracelet flickers. Soojung catches on. "Hey do you think my swimsuit is sexier than Nara's?" She says something to catch the boys' attention, randomly getting up and jumping around. With eyes averted to her, Jungkook quickly gets up, excusing himself.

 

Jungkook's not sure where he's heading to but luckily their chairs are near the staff office. He walks into a random door and finds himself in a long corridor. His head feels heavy and he sits on the floor, panting. He sprinted here as a man and now his upper half is naked in his female glory. "Are you okay?" A familiar voice says. He looks up to see Soojung. "I came after you to help you change back."

 

"Thanks, I-" but something odd catches his eye. "Soojung."

 

"What is it?" She asks, coming closer but Jungkook gets up and takes a step back. She looks at him puzzled. "What are you doing?"

 

"Your bracelet." He stares. "Why is it red? It's supposed to be blue."

 

The girl in front of him clicks her tongue. "Didn't think you'd notice in this situation. You're sharper than I thought, I'll give you that." She transforms to what Jungkook assumes is her Firefly form. Her hair is extremely short and grey. She's wearing a jumper.

 

"You're that girl, who was staring at Jimin." Jungkook slowly backs away. "How did you make yourself look like Soojung?"

 

"Why should I tell an enemy my secret?" She mocks, summoning a gun from thin air. "You won't live long enough to tell anyone, but I still don't feel like sharing that information with you." She yawns tiredly, blowing some strange powder at Jungkook. He sneezes "To be honest I haven't killed anyone yet and I don't want to, in particular. Especially if it's something as unique as a male Firefly. But it's better than you taking me down, sorry."

 

"Wait, you've got it all wrong!" Jungkook holds his hands up in defeat, trying not to show any signs of resisting or fighting. He's sort of flustered about his breasts being on full display to a random stranger but he can't bother with the embarrassment at the moment. "I wouldn't kill you."

 

"Don't lie. Your bracelet is blue, mine is red." She loads the gun. "That makes us enemies. I may be a relatively new Firefly but I know this much."

 

"No, please listen." Jungkook takes a step forward and despite her obvious hesitation, she shoots. Almost in a flash, Nara's sword cuts the bullet in half and Soojung holds her gun against the girl's scalp.

 

"Move and I shoot your brains out."

 

"Now, now, Soojung, be more welcoming to a possible new teammate." Nara says, taking the girl's gun. "We're not going to hurt you."

 

"You, your bracelet... it's red. Why are you with them?" The girl in the jumper questions.

 

"My, how very colorist of you to shoot someone because they're blue." Nara jokes to lighten the mood. She throws the gun to Jungkook. "We'll tell you everything, but first, tell us your name."

 

"It's Hyeri... Lee Hyeri." The girl reveals.

 

"At least you're cooperating, that's good." Nara signals Soojung to lower her gun. "I want to talk with her one on one. Since we're the same color, I think she'll find it easier to trust me."

 

"Alright." Jungkook gives her the approval. "Make sure to ask her how she made herself look like Soojung."

 

Nara's eyes widen. "She did what?"

 

"She tried to catch me off guard with that." Jungkook covers his chest. "And what was that powder exactly?"

 

"It's to prevent you from channeling any magical power." Hyeri explains. "I don't know what type of fighter you are, so I preferred to play it safe."

 

"Is that everything that powder does?" Soojung asks suspiciously.

 

"Well... Since it conceals his powers, he cannot turn back to his original form for a while."

 

"What?" Jungkook can't believe it. "Are you kidding right now?"

 

"Why would I joke about something serious?" Hyeri rolls her eyes.

 

"What am I going to do? What are we going to tell Jimin?" Jungkook is on the verge of freaking out.

 

"Relax." Nara orders. She thinks for a minute, taking deep breaths. "First of all, Soojung, go and the other guys Jungkook had to go home because his anemia affected him badly."

 

"But I don't have anemia."

 

"Does Jimin know that?" Nara raises an eyebrow. Jungkook shakes his head. "Perfect. Take our stuff and tell everyone you're going to give it to him and tell them that I went to the hospital with him. Also, there's a store somewhere here that sells swimsuits. Buy one for Jeonyul here and tell everyone that your other female friend decided to join you."

 

"He did see me with Jeonyul at the library." Soojung hums. "I'll go get your bags and buy you the bikini."

 

"I'll take Hyeri for questioning as soon as Soojung returns with my belongings. Are you okay?" Nara asks, taking off her bolero and handing it to the younger male, for him to cover himself up.

 

Jungkook nods. "Thank you Nara, you're reliable. I don't know what we would have done if it weren't for you."

 

She smiles. "Don't sweat it."

 

Faster than they expected, Soojung returns, panting. "God I had to run to opposite sides of this enormous park but luckily, I changed to my Firefly form after taking your things so I could run fast to the store." She transforms back. "Oh, Kook, I also bought you another bag. It would be weird if Jungkook and Jeonyul would have the same bag."

 

"Good thinking Soojung." Nara winks. "Well I'll be off. Hope you have a fun time."

 

Jungkook puts the half white and half blue bikini on, feeling exposed. "How do you girls wear it? I feel naked." He pouts.

 

"On the bright side you look gorgeous." Soojung tries to make him feel better. It's very much appreciated.

* * *

Somehow the guys bought the story, although Hansol seemed disappointed that Nara left. However he said Jeonyul was beautiful enough to make up for it. "I can't believe you know Jungkook. I hope he'll be okay. I didn't even know he's anemic, I hope it's nothing dangerous" Jimin rambles, sitting next to her. "Do you know him well?"

 

Laughing nervously, Jungkook rubs his neck awkwardly. "I guess."

 

"What do you think of him?" Jimin questions.

 

"Of Jungkook?" Jeonyul asks, surprised. Jimin nods. "Well... I guess he's a very introverted person who is sometimes hard to understand but overall I think he's a nice person." Jimin smiles. "What... what do you think about him, Jimin?" Blush washes over Jeonyul's face.

 

"I was friends with his older brother, kinda. I always looked at him like a little brother but I've gotten to know him better and he's more mature than I had originally thought." Jimin gets up. "I'm going to find something exciting to do, want to join me?"

 

Jeonyul gets up, looking passionate. "Yes! I want to feel the fear of heights and water until it's visible in my eyes."

 

"That's the spirit." Jimin grins. A certain familiar aura washes over him but he brushes it off. They race to the furthest pool and Jimin is amazed at how fast she is. "W-What, do you train often or something?" He breathes heavily.

 

"Already panting? You're weak." She smiles triumphantly.

 

"Very competitive, aren't you?" Jimin stands up properly after resting his hands on his knees.

 

"It's not competition when I easily win." With hands on her hips, Jeonyul smirks.

 

"Alright Ms. Confidence, how about another competition?" Jimin offers. "The loser has to do something for the winner."

 

"I'm intrigued."

 

"The first one to reach the other side of the park, next to the green poster, wins." Jimin explains.

 

"Do you have to run?"

 

"Choose your method yourself. You can swim, jump and what not, just as long as you reach there." Jimin's already in place. "Ready, set, go!"

 

Jeonyul begins sprinting, bypassing Jimin from the start. "You'll have to be faster than that!" Jeonyul yells, giving this everything. It may be unfair since he has his Firefly physical advantage but Jimin doesn't know that. Jeonyul's the first to arrive and barely a minute after, Jimin lies on the floor, too tired to function. "Victory is mine." She reaches a hand to help Jimin stand up. "Come on, let's drink water. It's important to stay hydrated in this heat."

 

Accepting her help, they walk hand in hand to their seats. Jungkook can barely control his heart rate. With a heavy heart, Jimin speaks. "Since you won, you can give me a dare and I can't refuse it."

 

After a while of thinking, he comes up with something. "I know it's something a bid weird to ask of you to do but... Is it possible you'll go visit Jungkook this evening?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"You may not know it but your opinion and worry really matters to him." Jeonyul tries to hide the cunning smile. "He's lonely and sad and of course he has Soojung and Nara, but he admires you since he was younger and I think he'll really appreciate it."

 

"You must care for him deeply." Jimin pats her head. "He might be happier to see you rather than me. Or we can go together."

 

"Oh, no, trust me. I'm the last person Jungkook wants to see." Jeonyul chuckles anxiously.

 

"With how worried you are about him, I'd think you're close." Jimin finishes the water bottle. "But I guess I don't know the nature of your relationship. I won't assume anything."

 

"Then you'll do it?"

 

"Of course. I am worried about him anyway."

 

The day passed by rather quickly and although Jungkook tried his best to get alone time with Jimin, Soojung would constantly interrupt them and mention Jungkook out of the blue. "You know, once I fell and injured myself and he carried me home. He didn't have to and yet he carried me all the way to my bed, making sure I'm okay."

 

"Do you like him?" Changsub asks, curious.

 

"Well obviously, he's a great friend."

 

"I meant, in a more romantic way." Changsub says. "All you've been doing for a while is compliment him."

 

Soojung realizes that her attempt to make Jungkook seem amazing in Jimin's eyes has somehow been backfired. "I don't, actually. He's... not my type."

 

"You said you like people you can be yourself with. To me it sounds as if you two are very close." Hansol teases.

 

"No, I meant," Soojung takes a deep breath. "He's not...  _a girl_."

 

That shut everyone up. Until, "Oh then you like Nara!" Hansol proclaims.

 

Soojung blushes slightly. "I-I do not! If there's a person I definitely dislike it's her."

 

"Didn't seem that way to me." Jimin joins the taunting.

 

"Now, now, let's not annoy Soojung." Jeonyul hushes everyone. "She's scary when she's angry."

* * *

When everyone went home, it was around late noon. Soojung came to Jungkook's place instead. They had a lot to discuss about. "Do you think Nara managed to convince Hyeri?" Jungkook opens the door to his house, walking inside with his companion following him. The effect of Hyeri's powder must have worn off because he changed back into his male self in a bikini.

 

"Wow. Okay, I did not want to see that." Soojung covers her eyes. "And I think she did."

 

Jungkook runs to his bedroom and puts clothes on. "She texted me, saying she'll stop by soon."

 

On cue, there's a knock on the door. It's Nara, along with Hyeri. "Hey, did the guys buy your lies?" Hyeri asks, making herself at home.

 

"Yep. Man, boys are stupid." Soojung laughs. "Except you Kook. Oh and your boyfriend."

 

"He's not my boyfriend." Jungkook pouts. "Yet."

 

"Hyeri told me she's willing to work with us. It's safer to work in groups than go solo. It's even better if you have a few colors with you." Nara sits next to Soojung on the sofa. "She also told me how she changed her form. Explain them."

 

With a deep sigh, Hyeri's eyes are lifted from her PSP. "My stuffed frog brought me a book about spells, potions and things like that. It was in a weird language but when I transformed into a Firefly I suddenly could understand it."

 

"That's where you found the recipe to that powder?" Hyeri nods.

 

"It's a thin book, but it has useful information."

 

Another knock on the door. "Who could that be?" Nara asks. Jungkook runs to the door, trying his best to seem sick.

 

"Jimin hyung, what are you doing here?" Jungkook asks, knowing full well what.

 

"I thought I'll stop by to see how you're doing." Jimin smiles. Then he notices three girls. "If you're busy I'll come another time."

 

"No, no!" Soojung gets up, grabbing Nara's and Hyeri's hands, dragging them. "We were about to leave! You be with him." She kicks Jimin into Jungkook's apartment, closing the door with her leg.

 

Jungkook has the best wing-woman. "Did you have fun after I left?" He heads to the kitchen to get Jimin something cold to drink.

 

"We did, but it wasn't the same. It was obvious you were missing." Jimin thanks him for the drink, sitting besides him. "How are you feeling?"

 

"A lot better now that you're here." Jungkook beams and Jimin laughs, ruffling his hair.

 

"I can see you're surrounded with girls." Jimin smiles. "Changsub and Hansol told me they were jealous of you right before they left."

 

"Is that so?" Jungkook sips on his drink. "They're all my friends, I'm thankful to have them."

 

"Do they make you feel less lonely?" Jimin wonders.

 

"Yes, especially Soojung." Jungkook rubs his temples. His head hurts. "She may be reckless, loud and hyperactive but I think that's what I like the most about her. She's open and free."

 

"She thinks highly of you, too. The moment you left, you're all she could talk about." Jimin has an odd expression. "Truth to be told I'm envious of your friendship. You two have such a solid relationship."

 

"You don't have someone close to you?" Jungkook curiously asks.

 

Jimin shakes his head. "No. I also want to be closer to you. Ever since we were younger, I'd spend more time with Minhyuk and while I didn't ever think badly of you, I thought we just wouldn't get along but now that I'm discovering new things about you, I think I should have tried befriending you instead of your brother. He... isn't a bad person but he has a tendency to harm those around him."

 

Jungkook averts his gaze. "I think you should go."

 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood." Jimin gets up but before he can leave the room, the younger male grabs his hand. "Jungkook?"

 

"Please don't really leave me." He begs, tears tugging at the corner of his eyes. The older male hugs him, rubbing his back soothingly.

 

"It's okay, let it out." Jimin comforts him.

 

"I apologize." Jungkook pulls away, sniffling. "I don't know why I started crying."

 

"You have no reason to apologize." Jimin wipes the tears with his thumb. "Hey, want to go to the bakery nearby with me? I'll buy you cake and we can eat it here."

 

"Okay." Jungkook takes deep breaths and walks behind Jimin. The older male grabs his hand, pulling him so that they'll walk in sync.

 

"I don't smell that bad that you want to stay away, right?" Jimin jokes.

 

"No, you smell fine!" Jungkook apprehensively declares.

 

"Then come a little closer, try to relax." Jimin speaks softly, reaching his hand for Jungkook to grab.

 

The younger male is reluctant to do it. "Are... you sure? People will stare or something..."

 

"It's  **okay**." Jimin takes a hold of Jungkook's shaking hand. "Physical contact can help you be more calm." Jungkook only hums. Jimin buys a chocolate cake. The way to Jungkook's house is quiet but there's no awkward silence, it feels nice. They finally arrive. Jungkook makes tea and Jimin cuts slices for each. "Let's eat."

 

"This is sweet." Jungkook reacts positively with all of his body. "I know I've been a bit weird today and in general but thank you for being nice nevertheless."

 

"Don't think that badly of yourself. I know I don't." Jimin reassured him. "You have a lot to be proud of. You're smart, interesting, funny and great company."

 

"I guess I should be more like Mr. Confidence." Jungkook kids. Jimin's eyes slightly widen. How would Jungkook know what he said to Jeonyul. No, it has to be a coincidence. But is it really? It's not the first time. Jimin shakes his head and brushes it off.

 

"How are you?"

 

"I'm all fine now. I value what you did for me." Jungkook bows. "It's getting late." Both Jimin and him agree that the older male should head home. "I'll walk you home."

 

Jungkook's head hurts. When they're near the entrance, a wave of dizziness washes over the younger male. He would have fell if it weren't for Jimin catching him. "Hey, are you sure you're fine? Maybe you should go to sleep for today."

 

"Oh, no, it's okay... I want to walk you home."

 

"Don't be ridiculous." Jimin picks Jungkook up effortlessly, carrying him to the bedroom. Placing him gently on the bed, the older male checks for fever. "No fever, but you should sleep."

 

"Y-Yeah." The younger male's face is all red. Jimin is almost breathing over him. "T-Thanks again."

 

"Hey Jungkook," Jimin leans closer, examining Jungkook's features. "I don't usually say that to guys but did you know you're very pretty?"

 

"W-What?" Jungkook is too flustered to speak, covering his face with the blanket.

 

"Well good night, I hope you feel better soon." Jimin heads towards the door. "I'll call you later tomorrow to see how you're holding up."

* * *

"Kook, are you even listening?" Soojung groans, pushing her male friend off the chair.

 

"Ouch, what the hell?" He pouts, rubbing his back.

 

"You're staring at your phone and it's creeping me out. Snap back to me, will you?" Soojung offers a helping hand, which Jungkook appreciates.

 

"Sorry, it's just-"

 

"Jimin?" She completes the obvious sentence for him, yawning and laying on Jungkook's king sized bed.

 

"He's supposed to call me." He lies besides her. "How'd you know?"

 

"Doesn't take a genius to figure out seeing as you talk to him and about him all the freaking time." Soojung laughs, finding Jungkook's embarrassed expression endearing. "I think Jimin calling you means more to you than the risks we deal with in order to survive as warriors of justice." She sighs. "I mean..." She bites her lower lip anxiously. "Listen Jungkook, all humor aside, I understand what's it like to love someone and want to be with them. But don't you think you're putting him in a dangerous position by spending time with him as your female self? Hell, even your male self." Jungkook suddenly realizes what she's meaning to say. "What happened with Nara was only the tip of the iceberg. She ended up being our ally and didn't cause any harm to bystanders like him. But what about other Fireflies? How can you be certain they won't get Jimin involved in order to get you?"

 

"You're... You're right." Jungkook sits up, looking as if he's been kicked. "I was too focused on trying to deepen my relationship with him that this possibility didn't cross my mind. Or, rather... Maybe I pushed it away because I knew he has a thing for me so..."

 

"I know," Soojung pulls the male into a hug, patting his back. "It's not something you want to hear, let alone think about. That you're the one who's putting your loved one in a risky situation."

 

"It's just... I mean," Jungkook hugs her. "It's not that I used to think Jimin dislikes male me but after meeting female me he suddenly showed more interest and due to that he even spent time with my true form."

 

"And you had every right to be happy about it, but right now, until we figure things out and know for sure that we have more allies than enemies, it's best to keep your distance for the meanwhile. Not only from Jimin, but school friends as well." Soojung explains and Jungkook nods in agreement. "As long as you understand."

* * *

Since their little chat, Jungkook has managed to ignore Jimin, even if he didn't want to. Although only in his male form. As Jeonyul he still texted him. Despite that, his reactions were very dry, he'd take a long while to answer and reject every offer to meet with a lame excuse. It went on for a week and a half, until the older male became upset. When school day was over he surprised Jungkook at the gate, grabbing him by the hand. "Did I do or say something that bothered you?"

 

"U-Uh, of course not." Jungkook averts his gaze.

 

"Then why are you pretending I don't exist?" He asks, a crushed expression on his beautiful face. "I thought we're friends."

 

That slightly stung Jungkook's heart. "Yeah... We are friends, I've just been busy."

 

"It's weird, you know." Jimin mutters.

 

"What is?"

 

"You and Jeonyul. You both started to ignore me at the same time, you both have similar facial features, your personalities are very similar." Jimin goes on. "Not to mention the moment you left she showed up and although you're supposed to be 'friends' I never see you two at the same place. I'm a logical person, I tried to think that maybe it's just an amusing coincidence but she referenced things I told you and vice versa. Something is suspicious. I may sound insane but I need you to be honest with me."

 

"Wha-What is it?"

 

"Are you and Jeonyul the same person?" Jungkook's eyes widen. "I know it doesn't make sense, but I don't know. There's something about you two. You feel like the same person!"

 

"I, uh, no, it's not..." Crap, Jungkook can't think of any good excuse. He thought he wasn't being that obvious.

 

His savior is fast to come. "Jungkook, there you are." A girl. She looks exactly like Jeonyul. Both males seem surprised. "I've been looking for you."

 

"Jeonyul?" Jimin asks, surprised.

 

"Hey, is everything okay? You seem shocked." The Jeonyul look alike says.

 

"What is going on?" Jimin asks, frustrated and confused.

 

"I'm assuming Jungkook didn't explain anything." Fake Jeonyul sighs. "I'll do it then. I'm his twin sister."

 

"You're what?" The older male asks in disbelief.

 

"That's why we look alike, that's why we have similar personalities."

 

"This doesn't make sense. I know his brother for a long time and he never mentioned a younger sister. Not to mention I'd always see Jungkook alone as a child." Jimin can't buy it.

 

"As a baby, I was abducted. Our mother was devastated and that's why she invested herself in work, she couldn't deal with the pain." Jeonyul lies, and yet her words sound believable. "Two months ago I needed a blood donation but it turned out that neither of my parents had the right blood type. It wasn't normal so I asked if I was adopted. The truth they revealed was more horrifying. My fake mother killed herself and I was left with a heartbroken father. He told me that if I want to, he can give me the information about my real parents and I'll leave, even report him to the police. I know what they did was wrong but..." There are tears threatening to fall. "They took care of me and he had just lost the love of his life so I... I just met my twin brother. I told him everything and we agreed to keep it a secret. No one knows, not even Minhyuk. The reason we don't spend time together with other people is because we look so much alike and we know people will start asking questions."

 

"That's... unimaginable." Jimin looks in awe. "I'm sorry, I had assumed something that stupid when reality was much more... sad."

 

"It's okay hyung, I didn't mean to hide her from anyone, especially not you. I just couldn't tell other people." Jungkook takes Jeonyul's hand. "Please don't tell anyone. I know we can trust you."

 

"Yes, of course. You can count on me." Jimin bows apologetically. "I can't believe I came up with such a foolish theory. I won't bother you, I need time to process things anyway." Jimin rushes away.

 

As soon as Jimin's gone, Jungkook turns to the girl. "Hyeri is that you?"

 

She nods. "I heard your conversation and changed my form to you. Hope you don't mind."

 

"God you saved me." Jungkook exhales in relief. "I'm happy you go to my school."

 

"I can't believe you never noticed me."

 

"You're my junior, we have different classrooms." Jungkook pouts. "I don't know how you managed to think of such a detailed, special story."

 

"It was in a video game I like."

 

"Figures."

* * *

When Jimin arrives home, he sits on the bed, staring at the blue ceiling. What Jeonyul and Jungkook told him today made a lot of sense, in a way. But it doesn't explain everything. When he first heard the story he was too overwhelmed to think clearly but now his mind is free to wonder about it. That doesn't explain how they know certain things. Even if they tell each other about their day it can't be in such detail, right? Not to mention, they didn't live together. That means they can't be as similar from birth. Plus it doesn't make sense Jungkook would tell him but not  **Soojung**. And that  _still_  doesn't explain why they ignored him. And there was something off about Jeonyul, she didn't seem like herself. Another thing that gave it away was the fact her bracelet was red, not blue. Whatever story he got told can't be completely true. Something has to be going on and he'll  _find out_  what.

* * *

"It's okay, just hide behind me." Soojung orders quietly, getting up, scanning the area. Since his teammate is a Shooter, her eyesight is improved so that she'll be able to aim, even in this darkness. Jungkook is a Blaster and therefore it's best if he doesn't get close to a Wielder or uses his power too much in a place that can burn easily. To their despair, Nara had to stay late for a student council meeting and now they're hiding behind a tree in the woods. The battle began at the park and thankfully, no one saw them because it's quite late. To avoid destroying public property or being seen by surveillance, cameras, Soojung and Jungkook made a run for it into the nature reserve not too far from them. Whoever this girl was, she was skilled. She missed the trees on purpose. It's nice that despite of the fact she wants to kill them, she's making sure not to ruin this environment. At the very least, they could use it as a way to shelter themselves. 

 

"Are you going to continue hiding in fear?" The girl's voice says, jumping at them from above, just barely missing Jungkook's leg. A chance? Jungkook tries to kick her but she bounces up, standing on top of her sword with a condescending look in her eyes.

 

"Fear isn't a bad thing." Jungkook flips back, getting into a defense position. "It helps you think rationally and decide what move to take." 

 

"Hey stupid, be careful!" Soojung's gun is on the ground. She must have dropped while trying to evade the Firefly's katana. It's different from Nara's sword, it doesn't have a long combat option, but dangerous nevertheless considering they're close. 

 

"Listen, we only want to talk. I swear." Jungkook takes a step closer. The girl takes it as a threat and summons a sai sword, throwing it at him. It barely grazes his cheek, leaving a small scratch. Nara is the one who's best with speaking. It's unfair that they keep meeting girls with red bracelets. Of course they wouldn't listen to Soojung and him. Hyeri wasn't with them either, she was probably napping on her couch. "We're making truces with everyone, please hear us out." 

 

Stealthily, Soojung reaches for her gun but the girl immediately throws a sword at her hand, cutting her deeply. "Fucking bitch!" She yells in pain, distracting her. 

 

With her eyes on Soojung, Jungkook grabs her head. "Don't move. I'm a Blaster and unless you want me to blow your head up, you best listen to us."

 

"Quite a peaceful way." She mocks but puts her hands in the air. With her better hand, Soojung grabs the gun and smacks the girl with it, knocking her out. 

 

"That shit hurts." Soojung groans. She tears a piece of fabric from her shirt, wrapping it around the wound. "Let's go to Hyeri's place, she's also a red Firefly. And maybe she has a spell for the pain or something." 

 

Jungkook hums in understanding, carrying the knocked out Firefly in his arms. They walk quickly, not wanting to be seen by anyone. Little did they know Jimin was out for a run. He spotted the girls coming out of the forest. "Huh? Jeonyul and Soojung?" He hides behind a street lamp, wondering why Soojung's hair is red and her hand is bleeding severely. Then he notices Jeonyul is carrying a passed out girl he doesn't recognize. That seems awfully suspicious. Despite his better judgement, he keeps following them, trying his best not to be seen. 

 

Soojung knocks excessively on the door, glad that Hyeri lives on her own and she doesn't have to worry about parents or siblings opening the door and seeing this weird sight. When there's no response, Soojung gets pissed. Her form causes her to be more hot headed and she kicks the door open, scaring both Jimin who was hiding behind a sign and Jeonyul who took a step back. 

 

"So that's why Jeonyul said not to piss Soojung off." Jimin mutters nervously to himself. He'll know for next time. The girls walk inside and he remains in place as Soojung shuts the door loudly. Even from outside, he can hear yelling someone's name. 

 

"What's with the obnoxious sounds, Jungie?" Hyeri yawns tiredly, wiping away drool. 

 

"I told you not to call me that." She warns, waving her wounded arm in front of Hyeri's face, pointing to Jeonyul carrying someone with her other hand. "We're in a bit of a situation here and we could use the help."

 

Sighing deeply, Hyeri gets up, transforming into her Firefly form. "First you should tie her up. You never know when she'll wake up." 

 

Jungkook hums, gently placing the girl on a chair and tying her hands behind it. "Do you have something for Soojung's hand?" 

 

"I do, but I need some ingredients for it." Hyeri flips through the pages of her book. "And since I'll be making preparations for the potion and Soojung is wounded, it's best if you go get it."

 

"Alright, what do you need?" Jungkook is already ready to leave. He'll do anything to help his teammate.

 

"Only three things. Two are rather easy to obtain. I need one sweet potato and cucumber seeds. These can be found at the convenience store near by." She sighs when she keeps reading. "And I need Chocolcate Cosmos."

 

"What's that?" Soojung questions when she comes back from the bathroom after washing her hand. It didn't help, the bleeding won't stop.

 

"It's a rare flower that went extinct."

 

"What? How am I supposed to get my hands on it?" Jungkook groans.

 

"You didn't let me finish. It went extinct in the wild, however, it reproduced by the vegetation propagation. That, of course, is only a clone of the original flower. But I think it should be good enough."

 

Jungkook breathes in with relief in his voice. "Great, where can I find them?" 

 

"That's where the problem begins." Hyeri closes the book. "Because these flowers are so rare, they are protected by law." She fidgets anxiously, examining Soojung's wound. "Inside the nature reserve, there is a building. It's basically a greenhouse for rare plants or the kinds that we don't have the right temperature for. The problem is, it's swarming with guards and cameras."

 

"Boy, do people take flowers seriously." Soojung grunts, kicking a chair.

 

"So you're saying all I gotta do is sneak in and steal one of those flowers?" 

 

"Don't be crazy Kook," Soojung glares. "As if I'd let my partner invade a public facility, especially if he's on his own. I'll go to a hospital or something." 

 

"You're wounded by another Firefly's weapon, I need to help you." Jungkook says. "You said yourself that when you're hurt by another fighter, the wounds take longer to heal and they can be fatal. I have to do this." 

 

"If you're going, take this. You'll need to hide your face in case you're seen on camera." Hyeri hands a ski mask.

 

"Thank you." Jungkook makes his way to the door.

 

"Don't be insane!" She raises her voice, trying to come after him but Hyeri stops her. "Let go or I'll shoot you."

 

"I'll be fine, we're all teammates but you and I are partners because we trust each other the most, right?" He smiles and she seems to acknowledge it, griping in agreement. 

 

"Be careful, okay? I don't want you doing something stupid because I wasn't there to save your ass." She holds up her fist.

 

Jungkook bumps her fist. "Don't worry. Also, don't kill the new Firefly while I'm gone."

 

She clicks her tongue. "Does that mean I can do it when you come back?"

 

"Soojung."

 

"Fine, fine. I'll message Nara and she'll come whenever she can to talk that girl into joining us." 

 

"Good. I'm more worried you'd do something reckless." Jungkook leaves, feeling nervous the moment he steps outside. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spots a silhouette moving in his direction. Due to his reflexes and experiences of being taken by surprise a few times before, he rushes over, pinning whoever it was to the floor. 

 

"Woah, hey,  _hey_ ," A familiar voice says, shocking him. 

 

Getting up quickly, he apologizes. "Sorry Jimin, I didn't know it was you." 

 

"It's alright Jeonyul, why'd you think I'll attack you?" He rubs his sore back. 

 

"Oh, um, unpleasant encounters in the past." And ten minutes ago. "What are you doing here? Isn't your house very far from here?" 

 

"I was going out for a run." Jimin rubs his nape awkwardly. 

 

Jungkook notices that. "I see. Well, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to go." 

 

"Wait," He grabs her arm. "Isn't it dangerous for you to walk around alone in the dark? Maybe it's better if I go with you."

 

Jeonyul crosses her arms. "Are you saying I'm too weak to defend myself? If I'm not mistaken, I just overpowered you to the floor in a matter of seconds." 

 

"No, no, I know you're strong. But what if there are more people to try and hurt you? They could be stronger than me. Groups of violent guys are less likely to bother you when you're with another guy." 

 

"If you think for even a second that I can't take down ten stupid men all by myself then you're underestimating me." Jungkook snorts. "And besides, the last thing I need next to me is a guy who thinks he's so amazing that he can protect me from anything." 

 

"No, I-"

 

"Save it. I'm in a hurry. Now then, if you'll excuse me." He repeats, more harsh this time. As soon as he disappears from Jimin's sight, he tries to suppress tears. He didn't mean to say it but with the anxiety of something happening to Soojung and the thought of another Firefly hurting his beloveds, he knows he has to do his best to keep Jimin away. Jungkook actually finds Jimin's worry rather sweet. When he's far enough inside the reserve, he puts on the mask and begins his search for the building Hyeri mentioned. The moment he spots it, he hides behind one of the giant trees blooming next to it. The place is rather small, but there are men everywhere, chatting and walking around. Scanning the area, he notices two cameras to the right and one to the left. Instead of trying to avoid them, he climbs up to the roof. Thank God for his Firefly abilities. He runs on top. So far, so great. Hesitant, he jumps down right next to a back door, hitting the guard right on the head and causing him to lose consciousness. "Sorry about that." He whispers quietly, opening the door. The place seems unguarded inside. Maybe no one expects people to manage to get in. A man's arrogance is his downfall. And Jungkook's good luck. The sound of people talking gets his attention. He manages to sneak around, seeing all the different rooms for the crew. 

 

"And then I told her to stop being so petty." A deep, rough voice says, followed with footsteps headed right at Jungkook. 

 

"Jaejoong hyung, you're too mean." A laughing voice answers. 

 

Jungkook opens a random door and gets inside in order to hide. Luckily it's an empty room. He hears the guards strolling away, feeling somewhat relieved he wasn't seen. He doesn't take too much time, making his way to where the signs lead him. As far as he can tell, no one is there. Along a line of different flowers, he spots the ones he needs and takes two, quickly exiting out of the window. He jumps from the roof to where no one is standing and makes his way back into the forest only to bump into Jimin. "Jeonyul, what were you doing there?" The older male asks, a look of shock covering his face. He must have followed Jungkook here. He seems sweaty. "You broke in there! You even have a weird mask on, what on earth is going on?"

 

"I don't have time for this, Jimin." Jungkook tries to walk away but Jimin grabs his hand. 

 

"Answer me. It was ridiculous. How did you climb the wall like that? This isn't human." Jimin seems more serious than usual. "When you first saved me, something odd also happened but I excused it with me being tired and afraid but this... I can't explain th-"

 

Before he can continue, Jungkook hits Jimin's neck, making him pass out. "I'm sorry Jimin... I cannot answer that." He picks the older male up in bridal style and jumps around on trees. Before heading to Hyeri's place, he stops by at Jimin's house, climbs through the window and places him on the bed. "I'll have to ask Hyeri for a spell to make him forget." Jungkook was on his knees in front of the older male's bed, watching him sleep. "I'm so sorry." He bites his lower lip in self resentment and makes his way to the convenience store to buy sweet potatoes and cucumber seeds. Then he rushes over to help Soojung. When he's nearby, he hears a lot of noise. 

 

"Listen here you fucking bitch."

 

Oh no, Soojung's angry. The moment he arrives he sees his best friend aiming a gun at the girl tied to the chair. "Go ahead, shoot me." She taunts. "As if you'd dare." 

 

"She'd dare." Nara grabs her hand, moving the gun. "Trust me, she almost killed me during our first meeting." The older female exhales. "She's ruthless when she's a Firefly. Well, she's quite fiery in general." 

 

"What'd you say?" Soojung twitches angrily. "Wanna die?" 

 

"I've returned." Jungkook runs to Hyeri and hands her two flowers. "I know you said you only need one but I took two just in case." 

 

"I appreciate that." Hyeri throws one into the bowl where everything was mixed besides the ingredients Jungkook was supposed to bring. 

 

"Nice to see you." Nara greets. "I've bandaged Soojung's hand as best as I could but it seems the wound is quite deep."

 

"Don't worry, Hyeri will heal you soon." He pulls Soojung in a hug. Despite her aggressive persona, she lost a lot of blood and is more pale than usual. 

 

"Let go, idiot." She grumbles in annoyance.

 

"I thought it's stupid." Jungkook jokes and even she can't help but laugh. "By the way, Jimin saw me breaking in. Do you have any memory erasing spell or something?" 

 

"For fuck's sake, that's irresponsible." The girl in the chair clicks her tongue. "You let a bystander see you? Some Firefly you are." 

 

"Any luck with her?" Jungkook asks Nara, who shakes her head negatively. 

 

"She doesn't want to join us." 

 

"Why not?" He's puzzled.

 

"Because I love the competition." Her grin is distasteful. "It makes me feel alive and not bored." 

 

" _Competition?_ " Jungkook's eyes widen. 

 

"She's been spouting nonsense from the moment she woke up." Soojung clicks her tongue. 

 

"I love the rush of almost getting killed." She smiles. "But nothing compares to having my sword against a crying, pathetic girl's neck, begging for her life although a second ago she tried to kill me." 

 

Jungkook watches in horror as she keeps talking. 

 

"And then, the sudden silence when I cut her open and she can't grovel anymore, giving her the disgraceful death she deserves." 

 

Before anyone else can comment on the terrible statement, Jungkook punches her, making her fall back along with the chair. "How dare you treat their life as a game? As a mere toy? They are people!" 

 

"Kook-"

 

"What is wrong with you?" He raises his voice, more furious than he ever was. He thought all Fireflies have fallen into this awful destiny and he decided to free them but he didn't imagine people like her exist. "Every single one of us was  _forced_ into this,  _forced_ to protect their own life by taking away someone else's. That feeling of living in fear, of worrying, of fighting when you don't want to, this is the exact thing we're trying to prevent." For some reason, flames begin to ooze out of Jungkook's body like a warm aura. It seems his fury has awakened something within. "Those actions cannot be forgiven." He announces, raising his hand up at the Firefly who only stared in fright, wondering if this is the end. But when the fire hits her, she doesn't feel pain. In fact, it's... pleasant. It doesn't burn, it embraces. Then, in a snap of a finger, her bracelet turns into ashes, revealing her true, human form. 

 

"What?" She begins resisting, trying to break free from her restraints. "No, no, what did you do?" She yells, looking petrified. 

 

"How did you do that?" Nara is amazed. 

 

"I-I don't know." The flames emitting out disappeared, leaving everyone in the room astonished. Falling to his knees, Jungkook rubs his temples, a painful headache taking over. 

 

"Turn me back!" The girl yells, voice straining as tears fall down. "I deserve to be special!" 

 

"Shut up." Soojung glares, her wound healing thanks to Hyeri's aid. "You've got some nerve to try killing us and then piss of my partner." 

 

"Soojung, don't shoot her." Nara says, holding her hand. "If you do, you're no better." 

 

"Tch, don't think I'll take the life of trash." Soojung rolls her eyes, slapping the girl harshly and leaving a mark. "Despite the crimes you've committed, the innocent life you took, you get to leave. Don't look at yourself as a victim, be thankful that we aren't throwing you to jail where you belong." She looks at Nara. "Take her to the park and leave her be, I'm sure she can find her way home from there." With  a small nod. the oldest female does as she's told. Soojung crouches next to Jungkook, rubbing his back soothingly. "Are you okay? What you did to her seemed to have taken a lot of your energy." He hums.

 

"But still, it was amazing. I've never seen anything like that." Hyeri says, joining the conversation after cleaning up the mess. "There was nothing similar to this in my book."

 

"Same goes to me." Soojung helps Jungkook stand up. "I've been a Firefly for almost the longest time out of us, besides Nara, and even she was shocked. You are truly incredible, partner." She grins. 

 

Jungkook manages to mutter out a thanks before losing consciousness.

* * *

"Finally awake?" Soojung asks, finally in her human form. She's much friendlier this way. 

 

"Y-Yeah," Slowly sitting up, he takes the glass of water his friend hands him. "Did you take me home?" 

 

"Yep. Nara returned and said that girl ran home crying and told me she and Hyeri would talk to their stuffed animals about what happened with you burning her bracelet." 

 

Jungkook's stuffed bunny jumps to the bed. "I knew you were special. There's no other reason for the Moderator to choose a male Firefly if they don't have a plan to change things up."

 

"Hey, Soojung..." Jungkook speaks softly. "If you want, I can try and remove your bracelet too. That way you won't have to suffer anymore." 

 

"What?" 

 

"I know how much you hated turning into a Firefly and fighting alone. It's not something I can imagine and it would be unfair of me to force you to fight alongside me when I know what you went through." 

 

"Pfft, this is why I call you stupid." She stands up, hands on her waist. "I was alone, now I'm not. I was forced into it, now I want to save others. You may think this is a burden for me but getting to fight with you, to do something that can help Fireflies in danger, that's a good thing. I wouldn't give up on this power. And besides, if I go back to being human that means I'll have to keep my distance from you, Hyeri and... Nara. I don't want that. I can't lose those I care about most. I'll do my best to protect you all."

 

"You know, you can just say you like Nara. I'm pretty sure it's mutual." Jungkook smiles but regrets his words when Soojung harshly pinches his cheeks.

 

"Say that again and I won't hesitate to pinch you more." 

 

"At least it's not gun threats this time." Nara says, leaning against the door, giggling into her hand. 

 

"How long were you standing there?" Soojung asks, flustered.

 

"More importantly, how did you get inside my house?" Jungkook nervously questions. 

 

"A girl has her secrets." She winks, making both of them face palm. "I'm joking. You left the door open and I saw you getting mad at him. How mean, bullying a sick boy." She shakes her head in a disapproving manner, arms crossed. "What did he say to get you upset anyway?"

 

"Nothing." Soojung seems bashful. She gets up. "We're lucky it's the weekend, we can take care of you."

 

"Oh, you don't have to do-"

 

"Shut up, you saved me many times." Soojung stretches. "And you spared Nara. The least we can do is nurse you back to health. We owe you this much." 

 

The two made breakfast and for a second, seemed like a married couple. Jungkook can't help but find them cute. With these two, it's unpredictable as to who will make the first move. Well, whatever, it's better not to push them and let things blossom naturally. "Hey, what about Jimin?"

 

"Hyeri said she'll deal with it." 

* * *

Jungkook was worried about going back to school, he knew he'll probably see Jimin at the bus station. He trusts Hyeri did what she could but what if it wasn't enough? "Jungkook, are you okay?" Jimin's gentle voice asks. "You seem to be somewhere else inside your head." 

 

"Oh, hyung, hey." Jungkook laughs timidly. "Sorry, I was thinking about how stressful the math test is going to be next week." 

 

"Don't worry." Jimin pets his head. "I know you'll do well. If you're that concerned, I can tutor you." 

 

"Nara promised to help me, it's okay."

 

"I see." Jimin runs his hand through his hair. "What a shame, I hoped we could spend some time together." 

 

"H-Huh?"

 

"Well you've been distant lately, I don't really see you unless we run into each other in the morning or at school." Jimin smiles sadly. "It feels as if you don't want us to be friends anymore." The older male looks disappointed. "And it's fine if you don't, I can't force you to like me. But still, I did enjoy spending time with you. I think I would have prefered if you told me in advance that you don't feel the same." 

 

Jungkook is weak when it comes to Jimin. "Let's hang out today!" He says, almost way too loudly. 

 

"You don't have to if you're doing it from pity." 

 

"No, I want to." He grabs Jimin's hand. "Let's spend time together, you're the person I like spending time with the most. Everything has been overwhelming lately, that's why I wasn't really myself but... I want to relax with you." 

 

"Then how about after school, we'll go to the cafe nearby? My treat." Jimin suggests. Jungkook agrees.

* * *

Standing near the school gates, Jungkook patiently waits for the older male. Then, someone from behind him covers his eyes. "Guess who!" 

 

"Soojung, I recognize your voice." He turns around, greeting his friend. "What are you doing here?"

 

"I'm supposed to meet up with Nara, we want to go shopping." 

 

"Is that a date?" Jungkook teases, earning a flick to his forehead. 

 

"Don't be ridiculous." She leans on the wall. "Who are you waiting for? Hyeri?"

 

"Oh, um, actually-"

 

"Jungkook, sorry for the long wait." Jimin rushes to the younger male. "My friend had me stay for a little longer. He didn't understand a problem and wanted me to explain." 

 

"You're meeting with Jimin?" Her eye twitches angrily. 

 

"Soojung, nice to see you again." Jimin greets politely. 

 

"W-Well, Jimin and I are going to the cafe, so..."

 

"My, what a  _coincidence_ ," Nara appears out of the blue. "Soojung and I were planning to go there as well. Shall we go in a group?" 

 

"Actually, Jimin and I were planning to spend some time alone, just the two of us." Jungkook sulks. 

 

"Don't be pouty Jungkook." Jimin smiles. "I'd love to get to know your friends better. Let's go together." 

 

Jimin and Jungkook walk next to each other when Soojung comes between them. "Jimin, there isn't enough space for three people on the sidewalk, would you mind being next to Nara?"

 

"Not at all." His words contradict his expression. "I assume you're rather upset as well, Nara."

 

"Why do you say that?" 

 

"I know you would have favored walking along side Soojung." 

 

She smiles. "It can't be helped. She's protective of her best friend. These two are practically partners in crime."

 

"You don't say." Jimin watches them talk and elbow each other. "I'm envious. They seem close. Jungkook is comfortable around her compared to me." 

 

"I wonder why's that." Nara jestly says, wondering if Jimin is oblivious or not. 

 

"I can't believe you were about to go out with Jimin without telling me anything." Soojung hits Jungkook's shoulder. "I thought we agreed to keep our distance."

 

"But... he was sad, he thought I disliked him! What else could I have done?" Jungkook pulls his best puppy face. She rubs her nose

 

"Ugh. As long as you don't do stupid things." 

 

"Can't promise anything." 

 

When they arrive, Soojung grabs the seat next to Jungkook before Jimin can, forcing the older male to sit in front of him instead. "I want something sweet." Soojung states when she opens the menu, sharing one with Jungkook. 

 

"Hey, Soojung, aren't you worried?" Jungkook whispers. 

 

"About what?" 

 

"About Jimin liking Nara and vice versa." 

 

For a second Soojung is agitated. "No, that won't happen."

 

"How do you know? They're from the same class, they seem to get along and we keep leaving them together. It isn't that impossible." Jungkook knows he's jabbing at a sensitive spot but he missed the older male, he wants to spend time with him. 

 

"I know you're lying but this is making me uneasy." She rests her head on the table in defeat. "Jimin, switch places with me. I want to sit next to Nara." 

 

A bit taken aback, Jimin nods and gladly sits next to the younger male. "What did you say to convince her to budge away from you?"

 

"Nothing that should trouble you." Jungkook cackles restlessly. "A-Anyway, I think I'll get a chocolate cake, what about you?"

 

"I hadn't had the chance to go through the menu." Jimin moves closer to Jungkook, taking a look at the food this place serves. The younger male is blushing, heart rate high. It's been a while since he was this close to his crush. 

 

"I think I'll take a cheesecake." 

 

"You and I have a similar taste, Jimin." Nara says, ordering the same as him. 

 

Jungkook's manner of eating is a bit messy. He craved something sweet for a while. "Jungkook, you have some on your cheek." Jimin says, pointing to his right side. 

 

"Do I?" He tries to wipe it away but fails. 

 

"Let me get it for you." Jimin cups Jungkook's cheek and runs his thumb over the cream and licking it afterwards. "This is very good, maybe I should have ordered the same thing." 

 

Jungkook's face is the epitome of red. "T-Thanks." After they finish eating, Nara offers karaoke. 

 

"That sounds great!" Soojung seems excited. "I've always wanted to yell into a microphone until my friends beg me to stop." 

 

"Very eccentric of you," Nara can't hide her smile. "I know a place that is around fifteen minutes away. What do you think?"

 

"I'd love to go, it's been too long for me." Jungkook is happy. Jimin is up for anything. Soojung and Nara walk ahead, leaving Jimin and Jungkook behind. "I'm a bit scared my voice isn't what it used to be." 

 

"Don't be," He holds the younger male's hand. "I'll sing with you. It will be fun." 

 

The sweet gesture helps ease Jungkook's fear. When they enter the booth, they realize there isn't much space. The guys sit close to each other while the girls squeeze next to each other. "Who wants to go first?" 

 

"I do!" Soojung immediately gets up. 

 

Everyone sings, even Nara. Except Jungkook, he feels somewhat worried. "C'mon Kook, you gotta sing something before our time's up."

 

"I'm fine with listening to you guys." 

 

Jimin grabs his hand and pulls him up. "You were thrilled before we got here, don't pretend you don't want to." He gives him a microphone. "Let's sing together." 

 

"I-I don't know." 

 

"Come on." Jimin winks, inviting Jungkook. The well known melody begins and Jimin sings first. At first the younger male is reluctant to join. But when he sees how Jimin chose such a meaningful song and sang it alone, he gathered courage near the end and sang along. 

 

 **"All that is near us, we must know**  
Could disappear any day - be careful  
The main key to finding happiness  
Lies nowhere else but in my soul

  
 **You know the closer you get to something**  
The tougher it is to see it  
And I'll never take it for granted

  
 **Everybody tells you from time to time**  
To never give up, like a phrase from a movie  
They tell you to stand up for yourself  
As if it was always that easy

  
 **Gather a handful of courage in my heart**  
To go on and survive another day  
And I'll never take it for granted, let's go!"

 

A cheerful song with the person you like could brighten anyone's day. "You two work well as a duo." Soojung compliments. "That was a good pick, Jimin."

 

"Thank you, hyung. I really like this song." Jungkook smiles sincerely and the older male has an odd tingle down his spine and a certain sting in his chest. 

 

"Yeah, of course." He ruffles the younger male's hair, feeling weird. "It's getting late, I'll walk you home." 

 

"We'll tag al-"

 

"No, sorry Soojung. I have something I must speak to Jungkook about." Jimin takes a hold of Jungkook's hand. "Come with me." He asks. The younger male nods, following Jimin's lead. 

 

"Who does he think he is, brushing me off like that." Soojung groans, kicking the couch. 

 

"Now, now, don't ruin public property." Nara places her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "They have things to figure out, it can't be helped." 

 

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Jungkook manages to mumble out when they stand in front of his house. 

 

"The truth is," Jimin starts, not very sure how to continue. "I like Jeonyul." 

 

That was direct. "Did you walk me to my house simply to tell me that? What, do you want my approval as her brother or something?" Jungkook is a bit down, he can't deny. To make this worse, there's sudden heavy rain. "If you're not going to talk I think I'll go inside." 

 

"Wait." Jimin turns him around, looking somewhat sad. "I like her but that has nothing to do with you." 

 

"Huh? I don't get it."

 

"I'm trying to say that I'm confused."

 

"You and me both, hyung." 

 

Jimin grumbles, takes a deep breath and locks his eyes with the younger male. "I think I like you too." 

 

The thunder startled them both, breaking the silence. 

 

"You-you like me?" 

 

Jimin wraps his hand around Jungkook's waist, pulling the latter closing to him, "It's... unlike any other girl I've ever held but it's not... it's not weird or bad. When we're together like this, it feels  **right**." 

 

"But it would be normal with Jeonyul..."

 

"This isn't abnormal," He cups Jungkook's cheek, leaning closer. "Only different."

 

"Hyung, I... I can't say that my feelings aren't the same in a way but if you have doubts, if you have someone else on your mind, maybe that means this isn't what needs to happen. I don't want to be a second best option." 

 

"No, it's not... like that." Jimin is gloomy. "I don't want you to think that you aren't important to me as an individual. It's just... before I always thought of you as a little kid and Jeonyul was my person of interest but these days it feels the opposite." He draws soothing circles with his thumb along Jungkook's cheek bone and the latter can't help but sigh in content. "I want to understand you better, I want you to want to be with me. When you pushed me away after we had a moment, I didn't figure out why I felt empty whenever you ignored me. It's funny now that I think of it, considering how obvious I was with my affection to you." Jimin can't help but smile at the irony. 

 

"Then what do you want to do?" Jungkook asks.

 

"Well, right now I really want to kiss you." Jimin doesn't let the younger male answer, shutting him up with a small peck to his pink lips. 

 

"Fucking hell, I was too late." Soojung bangs her head against the tree she was hiding in. 

 

"But don't you think Jungkook must be feeling happy right now?" Nara sits on a branch besides her. "He was into Jimin for the longest time." 

 

"I'm happy for him but at the same time I can't help but be worried." She exhales.

 

Nara grabs her by the chin and kisses her, surprising the younger female. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. We've got each other.


	3. Don't Be Sorry (If You Know That I'm Lonely)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the truth doesn't always lead to the best to situation  
> but that's okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whew an update whomst would have thought that will ever happen  
> sorry ahead for mistakes but I hope you guys will like it nevertheless!  
> comments are always very much appreciated <3  
> *it's shorter because the previous chapters were a mix of two chapters*

"You do realize you can't avoid Jimin forever, right?" Soojung asks, standing near the gate of her friend's school, watching from afar how he pulls his hoodie over his face and runs to her.

 

"Might as well try." Jungkook mutters. "Where is your girlfriend? I thought for sure she'd be here before me, scolding you for yelling at me in my fragile situation."

 

"For once I agree with Soojung," Nara says, sneaking from behind like always. "She and I usually bicker but she makes a valid point." Wrapping an arm around her younger girlfriend's waist, she kisses her cheek despite Soojung's embarrassed groan. "You two go to the same school and ride the same bus, don't you think you're going to run into him at one point or another?"

 

"And why are you rejecting him, anyway?" Soojung asks, hugging her taller girlfriend back and following Jungkook's quick steps as he tries his best to get away from the school area. "You were so in love with him from the moment we met and now that he wants you, you're not happy?"

 

"It's not that I'm not happy." Jungkook mopes. "I'm afraid. Mostly because he doesn't know what he wants and that means he's not sure if he wants me or Jeonyul."

 

"Jungkook, you two are the same person." Soojung sighs. "Your genders are different but he likes the personality of both of them. You can't blame him for being confused."

 

"I know that, I just..." Jungkook runs a hand through his messy hair. "I don't think I can cope with it yet, is all. We still have the entire Fireflies problem thrown at us. I've discovered a new power and now, more than ever, we need to figure out how to use it again. I can't let myself be distracted by Jimin, even if I really can't resist him."

 

"Are you sure you're not being a coward and avoiding confronting your feelings when you finally have an opprotunity because you don't believe you deserve to be happy?" Nara asks, dropping a pretty heavy bomb.

 

"Woah, dude." Even Soojung is taken aback.

 

"I'm not trying to be rude since I do consider you a friend but still. Every time you have a chance to actually be close to Jimin, you retreat. Normally when you like a person you try and use every chance you get but you do the opposite." Nara explains her point. "Before you were worried about whether or not he likes you but he told you that he does. Now that this obstacle is out of the way, you're forcefully creating another one."

 

"Maybe." The young male admits, feeling guilty. "But it's not as if I don't have reasons for that. There are many things getting in the way of a proper relationship between us. That's why I can't risk it at the moment, there are more important things happening that need my attention. He deserves better than someone who can't really be there for him completely. "

 

Nara was about to say more, but Soojung stops her. "Let Jungkook deal with his feelings on his own. I get that you're worried, but he knows better than us."

* * *

They all went together to Jungkook's house because it's usually empty with his parents constantly being abroad and his brother moving away. "When do you think Hyeri will arrive?" Soojung asks, helping Jungkook set tea cups on the table in his room.

 

"She got detention for playing video games during the lesson." The young male sighs, taking his seat. "She'll be done around five, I think."

 

"It's one unique friendship circle we have." Nara laughs. "A boy that turns into a girl, a student council president with her dorky but hot-headed girlfriend and a lazy but incredibly smart girl who can cast magic spells."

 

"It does sound crazy when you put it like this." Soojung laughs, resting her head on Nara's shoulder, too immersed in the older female to pick up her cup.

 

"I'm happy for you two but your love is making me bitter." Jungkook sulks, focusing on his hot beverage to distract himself.

 

"Sorry, we'll tone it down." Soojung sits up, scooting closer to her moping best friend and petting his back in comfort.

 

"Anyway, I did some searching online about, you know, Fireflies and more." Nara yawns tiredly into her hand. She is the student council president after all, she must be exhausted due to the hard work she has to do every day. Add that to her list of stressful things, such as being a Firefly. "I figured that since there's info in some books, I might be able to find more data online."

 

"That's smart thinking, did you find something?" Soojung asks, stretching her arms.

 

"Well, not as much as I'd like. Seeing as the books containing this information were extremely old, I assumed there wouldn't be as much online." She bites her lower lip. "Nevertheless, I found more information on The Moderator and what his role means." She takes a notebook out of her bag, opening it. "Apparently, his role was to give females their power in order to protect the country they lived in. And also, there was supposedly one Moderator for every continent."

 

"What? So there isn't just one?"

 

"Now there is. It was written that one of those Moderators was a villain in disguise. He wanted chaos and ended up killing the other Moderators, taking their powers in order to create disarray. He changed the Fireflies' role and forced them to become violent instead of peace keepers."

 

"Why is everyone on our tail?" Jungkook exhales heavily, getting up. "I want to eat something, I'm too tired to think about this at the moment."

 

"Just rest on the bed, I'll get you something." Soojung urges, pushing him back down. She's a great friend but he does feel bad taking advantage of it. On her way to the fridge, she hears a knock on the door. She checks the peeping hole and covers her mouth before a gasp escapes her mouth. Quickly rushing to Jungkook's room, she shakes the younger male whose face is buried under pillows. "Jimin's here!"

 

"What?" Jungkook immediately sits up, maybe too fast because he feels dizzy. "Why?"

 

"Probably because you acted as if he doesn't exist after kissing him." Nara explains in a blunt way that is considered nice for her.

 

"Oh no, what do I do?" Jungkook groans, covering his face in shame when he hears Jimin ringing the bell. His home phone starts ringing as well and he knows it's the older male getting mad at waiting.

 

"Just open the door and we'll come from the room, distracting him from wanting to talk to you." Soojung suggests. Jungkook isn't sure he's brave enough to see Jimin right now. Then again, he feels bad. Taking a deep breath in, he makes hast to the door, opening it.

 

"I didn't think you'll actually open." Jimin smiles sadly at the sight of the younger male. "Can I come in?"

 

"Jungkook, who's at the door?" Soojung comes out. "Ah, Jimin, nice to see you."

 

"Soojung, long time no see." Jimin greets her politely. "Is someone else here?"

 

"Yeah, Nara is in the bedroom." Soojung confirms, leaning on Jungkook's shoulder.

 

"I see." Jimin turns his gaze to Jungkook. "Are you going to act as if I don't exist, then?"

 

Both Jungkook and Soojung are silent for a few seconds. "You're welcome to join us." Says Nara's voice. "Jungkook would love that, he kept talking about you on the way here."

 

"Did he, now?" Jimin is almost spiteful, but not quite. He's leaning towards bitter more than anything. "Then I'll take you on that offer. I have cake in my bag, if anyone's interested."

 

It's like Soojung's eyes sparkle when he says that. "I love sweet things!" They walk into Jungkook's room as a group, sitting on the floor around his coffee table. Jungkook made Jimin a cup of tea as well and brought plates for the cake. Soojung sat next to Jungkook to spare him the awkward air that includes sitting next to the older male. The silence makes everyone uncomfortable so Soojung decides to break it. "Oh, soon Hyeri will come over too, right?"

 

"Hyeri?" Jimin inquires. "Isn't she a freshman?"

 

"You know her?" Nara is surprised. "We're seniors, I didn't think you know people from lower classes besides Jungkook."

 

"I helped her and her classmates carry things when they were on cleaning duty." Jimin explains. "I finished quite late because I was tutoring a friend and ended up encountering them struggling with carrying all these boxes."

 

Jungkook coos in his head at how sweet Jimin is. He feels incredibly guilty, especially when he's sitting right in front of him. When their eyes lock for a second, the younger male immediately looks away. "So hyung, what brings you here today?" He asks, but he can guess the answer.

 

"Do you really want to open this topic around other people?" Jimin isn't exactly thrilled telling Soojung and Nara everything he feels, even if they're good friends with Jungkook.

 

"Soojung and I will leave for a while.That can give you some private time to talk through whatever it is that you want." Nara offers. She can sense the distress in Jungkook's eyes but it's just straight up unfair to Jimin if he keeps him on edge constantly. She grabs her girlfriend's hand, pulling her up strongly despite her resistence.

 

"Thanks, Nara. I owe you one." Jimin smiles kindly at her and waits for the door to shut close before resuming his conversation with Jungkook. "So, how are you?"

 

"I'm... fine. How are you, hyung?" Jungkook is embarrassed and is mostly at a loss for words. He didn't expect to face Jimin head on this early.

 

"The truth is, I'm upset with you Kook." Jimin sighs, looking sad all of a sudden. "I don't want to be, really, I consider myself to be a pretty forgiving person who prefers talking about things openly. If you don't feel the same way about me, that's completely understandable. I won't get mad or think less of you or abandon our friendship, you know that. Having you avoid me so obviously after I was honest and vulnerable made me doubt your feelings for me - romantic or not. Do you not care about how I feel? You get closer to me only to put distance between us again. What am I supposed to think?"

 

It's like a sudden realization dawns on Jungkook. He thought that by staying away from the older male, it'll be easier for them both but the truth is he just convinced himself with a lie. He didn't want to face reality. Park Jimin likes him - of course he's going to get hurt by Jungkook's immature behavior. "Hyung, I'm so sorry. I have no excuses, I just... I don't know what to do with those feelings." He feels the tears coming. "You deserve someone better, I don't want you to be stuck with me. I don't want you to feel uncertain because you also like someone else or because I'm a guy. I want you to find someone worthy who doesn't make you feel confused. I'm so sorry, I really am. I'm sorry you even have to look at me." God, Jungkook is pathetic. What a lowlife. Making excuses like this - he's truly a waste of space. His self-destructive thoughts stop when Jimin pulls him to his embrace.

 

"I can't tell what you're thinking." Jimin pats his back soothingly. "That's why I'm left to guess. I can't always know, that's why I need you to tell me."

 

Jungkook sniffles, hugging Jimin in return. "I know, I'm sorry."

 

"If you're worried about how I feel, about how you feel, about anything, I want us to talk about it." Jimin cups Jungkook's cheek with his right hand, wiping his tears away. "But you can't disappear every single time something happens. It makes you seem insincere. In actuality, I know it's fear or anxiety or both, I get it. It's not that I'm underestimating or disrespecting how you feel, but by not communicating with me at all, you're disrespecting my feelings."

 

"I'll be more careful about it from now on." Jungkook takes deep breaths until he stops crying. Jimin's right. He can't hide forever. Honesty is important to someone kind and sincere like Jimin, he doesn't understand why he didn't do it earlier. Maybe it's dangerous, maybe Jimin will hate him or will be too shocked but there's no other choice. Being a Firefly isn't a justification to being bad friend, especially when it's someone he cares about so much. At this point, Jimin's already part of his life. As a normal person and as a Firefly. Whatever the older male will decide to do with this information will be completely up to him, but that's the least Jungkook can do to prove he really cares. There are things that he values more than his role as a fighter. "Hyung, there's something I have to tell you. It's the source of why I've been acting strange these past weeks."

 

Jimin is curious and worried at the same time. "Did anything happen?"

 

"Kind of. It was a major change in my life that somehow affected you too, apparently." Jungkook stands up, rubbing the back of his neck, filled with panic. He can't shake off the nervousness completely but still, he refuses to back down. He made a decision and he'll follow through. "Your confusion between me and Jeonyul - it had a reason. An illogical one, to an extent, but I can understand your bewilderment better than anyone else."

 

"What do you mean?" Jimin furrows his eyebrows, almost grasping what Jungkook is saying but not a hundred percent.

 

"Jeonyul and I, we're not actually twins." Jungkook finally manages to mutter out.

 

"You're... not?" Jimin asks.

 

"In fact, we're way closer than that." Jungkook laughs in misery at himself. "A while ago, my stuffed bunny came to life. I thought that was the strangest thing I have ever seen. Until I looked in the mirror and realized something a lot weirder. I've turned into a biological girl. The full package. Then, out of nowhere, this blue bracelet became glued to my wrist." He lifts up his arm to show the jewelry. Whenever it glows, I turn into a woman."

 

Jimin sits there, on the floor, eyes wide. He can't even laugh and brush this off as a joke when the younger male looks suspiciously serious. He had wondered about this before, he wasn't that oblivious and this was even one of his theories but even so, hearing Jungkook say it is surreal. "What are you... saying?" Jimin meets Jungkook's eyes.

 

"I'm saying that Jeonyul and I are the same person. I'm her as much as she is me. I identify as a male but she's part of me nevertheless." Jungkook is sweating profoundly when the older male keeps silent. He's afraid Jimin isn't taking it well.

 

"Can you show me? How you transition, I mean." Jimin requests. "It's definitely odd but I don't doubt you or what you're saying but... I want to see it to confirm it myself."

 

"Alright, but please don't hate me after this." Jungkook closes his eyes and focuses his energy. Then, a bright light appears for a few short seconds and Jungkook is a different person. At least physically. His hair is long, his chest is big, his entire appearance, although a bit similar to Jungkook, is now Jeonyul. "Do you believe me now?"

 

Jimin is in a state of shock. Even if he thought about this, the fact it turns out to be real is something that is not that easy to comprehend. "You're... the same person."

 

Jungkook nods. "It probably explains why you were confused about which one of us you like."

 

"I don't know what to say or how to feel." Jimin gets up. "I think I need some time to process that this is real life."

 

Jungkook is hurt, but he can't blame Jimin. The situation is absurd and the fact he didn't reject him or run away the instant he changed is better than anything he could have hoped for. "I'll walk you to the door." They walk together, no one mumbles a word and Jimin is about to leave in peace when a familiar voice yells.

 

"Jungkook, be careful!" It's Soojung. She opens the door violently with her foot, now in her Firefly form. Nara is injured and is being carried by the younger female. She places Nara on the couch, staring at her in worry.

 

"Soojung, what happened?" Jungkook rushes to the pair after closing the door behind him.

 

"A fucking Firefly bitch, she shot at us." Soojung bites her lower lip so harshly, blood comes out. "She protected me at the last second. But the Firefly was a Shooter. She used her gun professionally. I think she followed us here. Get Jimin away."

 

Seeing the state his friends are in and hearing that Jimin might be in danger, Jungkook acts on impulse - extremely fast. "I'm taking you home." Without waiting for the older male to accept or deny, he picks him up in bridal style and rushes out of the house. He jumps on street lamps, holding Jimin tightly in his hold.

 

"Jungkook, what the hell is going on?" The older male finally manages to say something. "What happened?"

 

"Fireflies have to fight each other. You've read the book with me, right? This is what's happening." Suddenly, a presence is following them. Jungkook hears the gun shot and barely manages to scrape by, jumping to the ground. It's work hours so the streets are mainly empty but still, shooting a gun in public like that is extremely dangerous.

 

"Carrying your own prince charming, are you?" The Firefly taunts, shooting endlessly at Jungkook who has to keep both himself and Jimin safe.

 

"God, you fucking bitch, stop shooting already!" Jungkook throws Jimin aside on more grassy area to make sure he's not badly hurt in case he did it too roughly, blasting a fire-ball at his enemy. He misses her, but the girl is too busy avoiding it that she doesn't notice Jungkook kicking her into oblivion. She practically flies, her back hitting a tree.

 

"Jungkook." Jimin softly says and the younger male turns around, only to see another Firefly holding a knife to Jimin's neck. His eyes widen in horror.

 

"You little-" He starts making his way to him.

 

"I wouldn't do this if I were you." The Firefly warns, making a small cut near his neck. Jungkook stops in place. "That's a good girl."

 

Jungkook's heart is beating insanely fast. This is the opposite of what he wanted to happen. He wanted to protect Jimin, to protect those he cares about. "What do you want from us? We're a group of peace makers, we don't want to fight you!" Jungkook exclaims, hoping that maybe they can negotiate or become teammates - anything that will save Jimin.

 

"I'm sorry, but this whole peace and working together bullshit doesn't really interest us." The girl from before dusts her skirt and kicks Jungkook's leg for payback. She knows he won't fight back when Jimin's life is on the line. "It really hurt, you asshole. You're lucky my friend is a Healer who has spells that can help me as well."

 

Crap, this is bad. She's a Healer. Jimin has no way of breaking free. Not to mention, she can cast spells just like Hyeri. "Zinger, don't give information to our enemies." Her friend orders.

 

"Sorry, sorry. Couldn't help showing off your powers." The Shooter summons her gun again, aiming it at Jungkook's head. "I wanted them to taste despair before I kill them."

 

"You're sadistic as always." The Healer exhales, a little annoyed. "We need her, you idiot. If her powers are real, they're of use to us."

 

"Fine, can I at least kill her little boyfriend?" The Shooter holds up her gun, clearly ready to end Jimin's life. Immediately Jungkook's fight or flight instincts kick in. He urges himself to forget his own emotional and physical pain, rolling on the ground and knocking the Shooter off her feet. He settles on her back, holding her arms behind her back with his right hand and holding his left hand to her head. He's lucky she doesn't seem very smart or attentive.

 

"Don't move. If you try any dirty tricks, I will blast her head off." Jungkook looks at the Healer. She seems to be the one in charge. "Let him go and I'll come with you without putting up a fight. It's me who you want, am I correct? Then this should be okay."

 

"How will I know _you_ won't be the one trying dirty tricks?" The healer raises an eyebrow.

 

"He means too much for me to risk anything." Jungkook states. Jimin's fear is replaced with comfort at Jungkook's words. "You can tie my hands once he's out of sight as long as you promise you'll never approach him again."

 

The Healer hums out loud, seemingly thinking. "Okay, it's more beneficial for us anyway." She releases her grip on Jimin. "Isn't it your lucky day, pretty boy? She cares this much about you that she's practically giving up her own life." She mockingly says. "Now run along, this is Fireflies business."

 

There's no way Jimin can leave. Even if he's terrified for his life, he's even more scared for Jungkook. If he had to go through this so many times that he got used to it, Jimin has no right to be mad at him. He wants to be there for him from now on, wants to be the one protecting, not being protected. But he's powerless in front of them. He has no magical or mysterious powers. He can't do anything. But still, he can't abandon the person most precious to him at a moment like this. He'll have to stall for time because he knows Hyeri is supposed to come soon, he knows Soojung won't leave Jungkook on his own. They'll come to save their teammate, he knows it. He tries to think of a way to stall for time. "You're nothing much if the only way you can get things done is through blackmail." Jimin provokes.

 

"Huh?" The Healer is confused. "What did you say, you brat?"

 

"You've heard me." Jimin crosses his arms and Jungkook stares in concern. What is Jimin doing? He should be dashing away, not getting himself involved any further. "I bet I can take you on, you weak bitch."

 

"You little-" Jimin dodges her punch, feeling the overwhelming pressure and force accompanied with it. That blow would have been deadly. Healers are bad news up close, as far as he remembers from reading in the books.

 

"What are you doing?!" Jungkook shouts. "Get away from here, you moron! Just leave, don't patronize them!"

 

"Can't do that, Kookie." Jimin keeps evading angry blows. She's strong, but not very experienced in first hand combat. A lot of her hits are not well-aimed. Jimin assumes she relies on her Shooter friend a lot for fighting. Either she's a new Firefly or she haven't gotten the chance to fight often. Most Fireflies have an advantage from long distance, that's why she must have not encountered many Healers or Wielders with regular swords or katanas. That's good, that means Jimin can keep her distracted.

 

"Why?" Jungkook starts crying, seeing Jimin exhausting himself in a battle with someone much stronger. "Just go. It's not that complicated. Just leave! If something were to happen to you because of me, I'd-"

 

"Too distracted!" The Shooter rises up when Jungkook is too emotionally invested, turning the tables around. She pins him to the ground.

 

"Jungkook!" A moment of distraction, that's all it took for the Healer to push Jimin into a corner. She held him in place with one hand, there's no avoiding it now. Is he going to die? Is this really it? Did he not do anything at all to help his most cherished person? He embraces that reality and closes his eyes when a fist makes its way to his face but opens them when he doesn't feel the impact.

 

"Thank God!" Soojung holds her gun to the Healer's head. "Put that fist down or I'm gonna put you down." When the Healer obeys, Soojung knocks her out with her weapon,

 

"What about Jungkook?" Jimin asks in a perturbed tone, looking to the side. The Shooter didn't manage to take her gun out in time and Hyeri is aiming her gun at her nape.

 

"Get up. Now." Hyeri orders. The Shooter gets up from Jungkook and the younger male rushes to Jimin, hugging him tightly.

 

"You dumb asshole, you almost got killed." He cries, falling to his knees and pulling the older male down with him. "Why didn't you go?" Jungkook sobs, so relieved Jimin isn't wounded in any way. He's sure it'll scar him emotionally but at least physically, he's okay.

 

"I'm sorry, I couldn't stand the thought that I get to leave without doing anything to at least try and help you." He rubs Jungkook's back, pulling him impossibly closer. "Besides, I know Soojung won't ditch you and that Hyeri was on her way. It was a matter of time. I tried my best to keep her distracted so your partners can come and help us."

 

"It was too reckless of you." Soojung scolds and knocks out the other Shooter, tying the girls' hands.

 

"But that's what saved them." Hyeri adds. "If it weren't for you risking your life for Jungkook, you both might have ended up in a worse state."

 

Jungkook stands up, changing back to his male form. "What about Nara? Is she okay?"

 

"Hyeri had another Chocolate Cosmo because last time you brought two." Soojung embraces Jungkook. "You saved her and now you're okay too, I'm so glad."

 

"I gave her the potion recipe, it's fairly easy to make despite the fact she was wounded." Hyeri picks up the girls. "What do we do about them?"

 

"Let's take them to my place." Jungkook says. "We'll have to question them for information and see if I can take away their powers too."

 

"Alright, let's go?" Soojung asks.

 

"You guys go ahead, I'm going to take Jimin home." Jungkook grabs the older male's hand. "And I don't want to hear any objections from you, you idiot who plays with his life. Got it?" Jimin only nods in agreement, following Jungkook who's basically dragging the older male forcefully. Jimin can't imagine how afraid he must have felt. He can understand why he's being over protective. When they arrive, Jungkook insists on walking inside Jimin's house to check for anything fishy. "Alright, it's safe inside." Jungkook sits on Jimin's bed, ready to scold him some more but when he sees Jimin's tired eyes and hears his quickly beating heart, he changes his mind and instead hugs him again. "I'm so glad that you're... alive. It's my fault for dragging you into this, but I'm so happy you're okay. If something were to happen to you, I don't know what I would have done."

 

"I never realized how brave and mentally strong you are." Jimin cups Jungkook's teary cheek, kissing his forehead. "You've went through this many times, including the first time I met you as Jeonyul. I repressed that, thinking that it must have been my imagination exaggerating whatever happened. Seeing it be real like that, it made me realize how amazing you truly are, Jungkook."

 

"I'm not remotely close to being amazing..." Jungkook blushes from the praise, but feels undeserving of it. "The Firefly path might have been forced on me but I have this responsibility now. I have people I want to protect. People I have to protect. You're one of them, that's why I kept you in the dark about everything for so long."

 

"The fact you don't take credit for doing what most people would be too afraid to do just shows how selfless you are." Jimin caresses his face.

 

Jungkook can't shake off the guilt. "I'm sorry for deceiving you with Jeonyul. I never meant to do that but somehow we kept meeting and I've always liked you. That made saying no very difficult."

 

Jimin shakes his head. "It's okay, I can't blame you. It took me this much to realize that I like you as well. As Jeon Jungkook. I think I just didn't catch on my feelings up until now."

 

"It's best if you don't involve yourself with me." Jungkook tries to look away but Jimin doesn't let him. "It's dangerous, you can't be part of my life like this. You deserve so much better and-"

 

Jimin stops him with a kiss to his rambling lips. "How about you let me make my own choices?"

 

"But I-"

 

"Dangerous or not, you're doing this because you have people to protect, aren't you?" Jimin wraps his arms around Jungkook's waist. "I have someone I want to keep safe, too. I'm sure you understand it's not a feeling I can get rid off any time soon."

 

Jungkook starts crying again. "You really are an asshole." He sniffles, wiping his tears with both of his hands. "You can't use my own emotions against me."

 

"I don't know, if it works then I might have to." Jimin chuckles when Jungkook hits his shoulder. "I want you to be in my life. You mean too much for me to lose over you being a Firefly. Besides, I like you. A lot."

 

"Are you sure about this?" Jungkook bites inside his mouth. "Is it fine?"

 

Jimin kisses Jungkook again. "It's more than fine."

 

"I'll trust you." The younger male wraps his hands around Jimin's neck, pulling him in for another kiss. This time, Jimin pushes him down to the bed, hovering on top of him, their tongues tangled together. Jungkook sighs in content into the older male's mouth, running his hands up and down his back. Jimin's hand slides down Jungkook's thigh, urging Jungkook to wrap his legs around him. The younger male is enveloping himself with Jimin, opening his mouth more and moaning a little when the older male pulls away to kiss his neck. "Hyung." Jungkook breathes out, clinging to him. "I'm so happy you're okay."

 

Jimin smiles warmly, gently pecking Jungkook's quivering lips. "I'm happy you're okay, you were the one fighting more than I am. You may be more used to battles than I am at this point but I'll do my best to keep you safe. I might not be able to fight alongside you equally but I'll carry around a knife just in case."

 

"I can't tell if you're joking or not." Jungkook pouts.

 

Jimin kisses him, watching as Jungkook's face becomes red. "You'll have to wait until the next fight to find out."


End file.
